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LIFE 



THE APOSTLE PETER. 



I 
Almighty God, -who, by thy Son Jesus Christ, 
didst give to thy Apostle Saint Peter many excel- 
lent gifts, and commandedst him earnestly to feed 
thy flock; make, we beseech thee, all bishops and 
pastors diligently to preach thy holy -word, and the 
people obediently to follow the same, that they may 
receive the crown of everlasting glory, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 





LIFE 






OF 




THE 


APOSTLE 

IN 


PETER 


A SERIES OF PEACTICAL DISCOURSES. 




BY 






ALFRED LEE, 




BISHOP OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPATE CHURCH IN DELAWARE. 


" The 


glorious company of the Apostle 


• praise Thee." 




LONDON: 




SAMPSON low and son, 




47, LuDaATE Hill. 






1853. 








OH and Oqilyv, 57, B*U»U Street, Showbill, London. 






1 



The present work is the substance of a series of 
discourses, prepared in the course of Parochial duty, and 
without any view to publication. The course extended 
beyond the Author's first intention, and called for not 
unfrequent reference to some of the questions that are 
earnestly controverted at the present day. The Author 
yielded to the judgment and advice of some of his 
: ' ' in submitting them to the public, as an humble 
Bering to the cause of Protestant and Evangelic Truth. 



Nj 



CONTENTS. 



I. THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS 5 

II. THE WALK UPON THE WATERS 24 

III. THE GOOD CONFESSION - 43 

IV. THE SEVERE REBUKE ---- 03 

V. THE DEATH-CHAMBER, THE MOUNT, AND THE 

GARDEN - SI 

VI. THE LAST SUPPER ----- 99 

VII. THE DENIAL 116 

VIII. THE RESTORATION TO THE APOSTLESHIP 134 

IX. PENTECOST 152 

X. THE MIRACLE AND SERMON IN THE TEMPLE ---- 170 

XL THE ARRAIGNMENT BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM---- 187 

XII. THE APPALLING JUDGMENT 204 

XIII. SIMON THE MAGICIAN 222 

XIV. THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA 241 

XV. THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS - 260 

XVI. THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE 279 

XVII. THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM 297 

XVIII. THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF 316 

XIX. THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE - 333 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 



LUKE Y : 8, PART 10. 

" When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 

Depart from me ; for I am a sinful man, Lord And Jesus 

said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men." 

In the mountainous region of Galilee lies em- 
bedded the clear and beautiful lake of Genessaret. 
In the midst of a country most fertile and inviting, 
it spreads out its limpid waters, a mirror of the sur- 
rounding loveliness. At a remote period its shore 
was studded by opulent and splendid cities, and 
art combined with nature to adorn and beautify 
its borders. But the prophetic words of Him who 
once upbraided these proud and princely cities be- 
cause they repented not, have been signally veri- 
fied. " Wo unto thee, Chorazin ! wo unto thee, 
Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works which were 
done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, 
they would have repented long ago in sackloth 
and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more 
tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judg- 
ment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which 
art exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to 
hell : for if the mighty works which have been 
done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would 

2 



6 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

have remained unto this day." Where once stood 
those thronged and magnificent cities, the traveller 
now finds a few poor fisher-huts, amid scattered 
ruins. Impenitence will prove a blight and curse 
to city and land — it will prove destruction to a 
soul. 

In one of these cities, (Bethsaida,) there 
dwelt at the time the Gospel history begins, the 
era of its wealth and glory, two brethren of hum- 
ble parentage and obscure station. The sons of 
Jonas, Andrew and Simon, pursued with their 
father the calling of fishermen, and through the 
heats of summer and the storms of winter plied 
their nets upon the lake. Content with their daily 
bread and humble lot, and profoundly ignorant of 
the great things which God had in store for them, 
little did they suppose, little did their fellow-towns- 
men suppose, that Bethsaida would be chiefly mem- 
orable through future ages as their birth-place. 
The life and ministry of the most distinguished of 
these brethren, is our present subject. Not among 
the least interesting and edifying of Scripture 
teachings, are its characters and biographies. The 
sketches drawn in Holy Writ of the individuals 
most conspicuous and honored there, are full of 
instruction. The patriarch, the prophet, the apos- 
tle, the convert, tell us of the wonderful dealings 
of Jehovah, not only with their lips, but in their 
lives. Examples the most persuasive, lessons full 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 



of divine wisdom, and events of thrilling in- 
terest constantly meet us in these attractive his- 
tories. 

For more than forty years, it is supposed, had 
Simon been an unnoticed inhabitant of the cities 
of the lake, before the events occurred which 
changed his whole course of life, and drew him 
forth from his retirement to be a spectacle unto 
the world, and to angels, and to men. The 
general opinion of antiquity reckons him the 
oldest of the apostles, and we may ascribe to his 
age, as well as character, the fact of his name be- 
ing placed foremost in the apostolic list. He had 
therefore fully attained middle life at the period at 
which he becomes known to us, and occupied with 
the support of his family, (for he was a married 
man.) his davs glide awav unmarked bv stirring 
incident or great event. There seemed every 
prospect of his passing his whole life-time an ob- 
scure fisherman upon the sea of Galilee. 

The first interruption of the even tenor of his 
days was probably the appearance of John the 
Baptist in the wilderness of Jordan, preaching re- 
pentance, and heralding the Messiah's approach- 
ing advent. For we find his brother Andrew 
introduced to us as a disciple and follower of John; 
and we may reasonably suppose that the two breth- 
ren were one in this beginning, as in the subse- 
quent progress of their religious life. Peter there- 



8 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

fore, we may conclude, was one of those awakened 
to repentance, by the pungent appeals of that bold 
and fervent preacher of righteousness. From the 
monotony of his life of labor, and the engrossing 
cares of his calling and his family, he is suddenly 
roused by "the voice of one crying in the wilder- 
ness, Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand." A new train of feelings would be thus 
awakened in his breast : other thoughts than those 
of his humble trade are stirred within him. He 
hears of the approach of a new, a spiritual king- 
dom. He is warned of the coming of One whose 
fan is in hand, who should thoroughly purge his 
floor, and gather the wheat into his garner, but 
burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. New 
anxieties now engross him. His conscience re- 
sponds to the energetic appeals of the Baptist. 
He thinks much and earnestly of this predicted 
kingdom. He dwells upon the thought of the ex- 
pected Messiah whom John announces as near at 
hand. He begins to wait and watch for his ap- 
pearing. Peter is no longer a mere fisherman, 
with a mind not rising above his nets and his boat. 
His conscience is awakened to some conviction of 
the evil of sin, and his soul is anxiously looking 
for the promised salvation. This view of Peter's 
state of mind best agrees, we think, with his ready 
welcome of Christ as soon as he was pointed out to 
him, and with his unhesitating obedience to his 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 9 

call. Doubtless his views were at this period ex- 
ceedingly narrow and confused. But he was a 
different man, after listening to John the Baptist, 
from what he had been before. This, we suppose, 
was the dawn of a higher and nobler life in his 
hitherto ignorant and carnal heart. What a mo- 
mentous period is it in the history of the soul, 
when it first wakens to the earnest conception of 
some better portion than this world — when things 
divine and spiritual break in upon it as great re- 
alities — when it begins to feel its need ofcGod — 
to confess the burden of sin, to sigh for pardon and 
peace, and to think much and seriously of eter- 
nity ! How important the influences, which under 
God then act upon, and guide, and impel it ! And 
what a blessing to the awakened and anxious spi- 
rit, when there is one at hand to cry like John the 
Baptist, " Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh 
away the sin of the w^rld !" 

It was not Simon, however, but Andrew his 
brother, who was in company with the Baptist, 
when Jesus passed by, and was thus designated 
by his forerunner. Andrew, and his fellow disci- 
ple who heard him thus speak, instantly followed 
Jesus. li Jesus turned, and saw them following, 
and saith unto them, what seek ye ? They said 
unto him, Rabbi, where dwellest thou ? He saith 
unto them, Come and see. They came and saw 
where he dwelt, and abode with him that day ; for 



1 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

it was about the tenth hour/' Thus the way was 
opened for Andrew to listen to the glad tidings 
from Jesus' lips. The evening was spent in holy 
converse with him whom he gladly recognized as 
the promised deliverer, the expected consolation 
of Israel. And when he left the abode of Jesus, 
he hastens to his brother with the exulting an- 
nouncement, " We have found the Messias," — 
" And he brought him to Jesus." How certainly, 
does the knowledge of Christ impel the happy soul 
to make him known to others, and to seek to bring 
them to his feet ! Is it enough for Andrew to dis- 
cover in Jesus of Nazareth the Lamb of God ? 
Can he lock up the secret in his own breast ? Can 
he rejoice over the discovery with a solitary, un- 
social joy ? No ; his impulse is to communicate 
the blessing that he hath found — and especially to 
impart it to his own kindred. " He first findeth 
his own brother Simon/ He hastens to him who 
had been his companion from youth, the child of 
his own parents, the sharer of his toils. He can- 
not rest until Simon also is partaker of his joy. 
Thus should it be always. The bonds of affection 
and sympathy are designed by God to issue in 
spiritual good. From mouth to mouth, and from 
heart to heart, is the assurance of the unspeakable 
treasure of a Saviour's love to be conveyed. If we 
have been enriched by Christ, it is not for ourselves 
alone, but that we may strive to make others rich. 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 1 1 

And, especially, may we hope to be the Lord's 
instruments for blessing those who are linked with 
us in closest earthly bonds. Those appeals, which 
from a stranger might be coldly repelled, may 
sound more persuasive and inviting from the lips 
of brother, sister, parent, friend, husband or wife. 
And thus, in the providence of God, the true con- 
version and consistent piety of one member of a 
household, may prove the salvation of the rest. 
The heartfelt prayers of affection will be favora- 
bly answered, and Christian example will operate 
with constraining power. The spiritual welfare 
of the members of our own family circle should 
lie very near our hearts, and whatever may seem 
the opportunities, or the prospect of success, we 
should keep the object ever before us. Often there is 
more encouragement to such efforts than our own 
cold, sluggish, unbelieving hearts are willing to 
admit. At any rate, let religion occupy its proper 
place in our own souls, let Jesus be enshrined 
within, and his spirit be manifested in our lives, 
and we shall not live in vain. Some around us, 
some peradventure most precious and dear, will be 
ready to exclaim, " We will go with you, for God 

is with vou of a truth/' 

*/ 

In the case before us a blessing rested upon 
fraternal affection, and the great apostle, who 
afterward bore the standard of Christ from land 
to land, who opened the door of the kingdom to 



12 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Jews and Gentiles, was first brought to Jesus by 
a brother's hand. 

The Saviour saluted him in a manner that 
showed his acquaintance with his past history, 
and his prophetic insight into his future destiny. 
" And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art 
Simon, the son of Jona : Thou shalt be called Ce- 
phas; which is, by interpretation, a stone." The 
full import of this new name, given him by the 
Saviour, (and which is preserved to us under the 
Greek form of Petros or Peter,) w r ill be a more 
proper subject of consideration, when we come to 
that memorable confession of his Lord, whereupon 
it was again given to him with peculiar solemnity. 
That it does not denote, as the Church of Rome 
would pervert it, that this apostle should himself 
be the rock on which the Christian Church should 
be built, it may suffice now to confirm by quoting 
his own words, in his first epistle. " To whom," 
i. e. unto Christ, "coming as unto a living stone, 
disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and 
precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up, a 
spiritual house. . . . Wherefore also it is contained 
in the Scriptures, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cor- 
ner stone, elect, precious, and he that believeth on 
him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore 
which believe he is precious; but unto them 
which be disobedient, the stone which the builders 
disallowed, the same is made the head of the cor- 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 13 

ner." While there have been those therefore, 
who, by a wresting of Scripture, would make 
Peter the rock whereupon rests tjie Church 
of God, the apostle himself holds very different 
language, and assures us that Christ alone is that 
foundation on which the spiritual house is built. 
That Peter, in common w T ith his brethren, the 
Apostles and Prophets, may be styled a foundation 
stone of the Church is not denied, but it is in a 
sense very different from that in which Christ is 
the foundation. To this our Saviour probably 
alluded, as also to the firm, unyielding character 
of him who should be afterwards so noted a cham- 
pion of his faith. 

The gospel history is silent as to the further 
particulars of this first interview" between the dis- 
ciple and his Lord. It suited not the needful bre- 
vity of the inspired writers to give us a full account 
of what then passed, or to describe to us the emo- 
tions of the Galilean fisherman upon beholding, 
face to face, Him for whose coming he had waited. 
With what measure of knowledge, and what de- 
gree of faith he now hailed his Saviour, we are not 
informed ; but there is reason to suppose that his 
knowledge was exceedingly limited and imperfect, 
and his faith as a grain of mustard seed. What 
the nature of the predicted kingdom, and what the 
deliverance to be wrought out by the Messiah, 
he scarce comprehended. Neither was he yet 

9.# 



14 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

aware of the close intimacy into which he should 
be brought with the Redeemer of Israel, as his 
daily companion and chosen apostle. He returns 
speedily to his w r onted occupation on the lake. 
The necessity of providing for his household again 
engrosses his time, and when next presented to 
our notice, he is casting his net into the Sea of 
Gennessaret. But, in the mean time, the fame of 
Jesus has been extending, and the attention of the 
whole region is drawn to his miracles and his 
teachings. After his conflict with the tempter in 
the wilderness, " Jesus returned in the power of 
the Spirit into Gallilee ; and there went out a 
fame of him through all the region round about. 
And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified 
of all." And, after his ungrateful rejection by the 
inhabitants of Nazareth, he made the cities on the 
lake shore his ordinary residence, and the scene 
of his wondrous works. A new lustre now began 
to invest this portion of Palestine. Rich as was 
its soil, beautiful its scenery, flourishing its cities, 
the clouds of ignorance and sin had hitherto 
densely brooded over it. But now were fulfilled 
the prophetic words of Isaiah : " The land of Ze- 
bulon and the land of Naphtalim, by the way of 
the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles : 
The people which sat in darkness saw great light ; 
and to them which sat in the region of the shadow 
of death, light is sprung up." No matter what the 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 15 

advantages of a land, however fertile, rich, flourish- 
ing, and desirable, if Christ be not known there, it 
is but "the region of the shadow of death." But 
now a day-spring from on high breaks gloriously 
upon this benighted province, and the gospel of 
salvation is proclaimed there by its Author's lips. 
We may well suppose that this coming of Jesus 
into their own country, and the growing interest 
which he awakened, was no matter of indifference 
to Peter and Andrew. Thev would be, doubtless, 
as often as their pressing avocations permitted, 
among the crowd that thronged around him. 
They would drink in eagerly his instructions in 
the synagogue, and gaze with astonishment and 
reverence upon his miracles of mercy. Their 
faith would be strengthening, and their attachment 
deepening. But they had not yet been summoned 
to leave all and follow him, and they continued 
still, in the eye of men, but poor fishermen of the 
lake. 

But now arrives the important period of their call 
to a personal attendance upon Jesus, to an aban- 
doning of every other concern and care, and an 
entire devotion of themselves to his service. As 
they were sitting in their boat, after a night of 
unsuccessful toil, the revered teacher of Galilee 
appears on the lake shore, followed by the eager 
multitudes who now always thronged his steps. 
" And he entered into one of the ships, which was 



16 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out 
a -little from the land. And he sat down, and 
taught the people out of the ship/' From this rude 
pulpit, discoursed with the deeply interested crowd 
he who spake as never man spake. His speech 
dropped as the rain, his doctrine distilled as the 
dew, and, amid prevailing stupidity and hardness 
of heart, there were doubtless many souls into 
which penetrated the healing and saving influence 
of the life-giving word. And we may reasonably 
suppose that there would be that in his subject pe- 
culiarly adapted to his companions in the boat, and 
the unexpected summons which he was about to 
give them. 

The account of the call of these apostles to 
close attendance upon their Lord, is an illustra- 
tion of the manner in which the four gospels illus- 
trate and complete each other, one supplying what 
another omits ; so that the four, being interwoven, 
furnish us with a complete and perfect narrative. 
In the gospels of Matthew and Mark we find 
merely this brief statement : " And Jesus, walk- 
ing by the sea of Gallilee, saw two brethren, Simon 
called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a 
net into the sea ; for they were fishers. And he 
saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you 
fishers of men. And they straightway left their 
nets and followed him." From these Evangelists 
we learn nothing of the previous history of these 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 17 

brethren. We should not know that they had 
ever been disciples of John Baptist, or that they 
enjoyed any previous acquaintance with Jesus. 
We learn nothing of the special miracle which 
accompanied and enforced this call. But these 
important links in the chain of the history are sup- 
plied by John and Luke. It was not a mere 
stranger, an unknown person, who called to them 
from the lake shore, and bade them follow him. 
It was not a sudden miraculous impression on their 
minds that induced them immediately to obey a 
voice before unheard. The Lord's power doubt- 
less would have been sufficient to produce such an 
effect, but his procedure was, in reality, more in 
accordance with his ordinary methods of working. 
These disciples had been growing in the knowl- 
edge of r the Lord Jesus Christ. Light had been 
daw r ning upon them with advancing brightness, 
and, by its gradual increase, they had been pre- 
pared to receive and welcome the summons to for- 
sake all for his sake. In the fuller narrative of 
St. Luke, we read : " Now, when he had left speak- 
ing, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, 
and let down your nets for a draught. And Si- 
mon answering, said unto him, Master, we have 
toiled all the night, and have taken nothing ; ne- 
vertheless, at thy word I will let down the net. 
And when they had this done, they enclosed a 
great multitude of fishes; and their net brake. 



IS LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

And they beckoned unto their partners, which were 
in the other ship, that they should come and help 
them. And they came, and filled both the ships, 
so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter 
saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, De- 
part from me ; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For 
he was astonished, and all that were with him, at 
the draught of the fishes which they had taken : 
And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from hence- 
forth thou shalt catch men. And when they had 
brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and 
followed him." This miracle of Christ was fitted 
to strike most powerfully the minds of the Gali- 
lean fishermen. In these same waters they had 
just spent a whole night in unrewarded labor. 
This very portion of the lake had been swept again 
and again, but their nets still came up empty. 
Now, at the word of the wonderful teacher, these 
same waters swarm with life, and the finny tenants 
of the deep own his presence, and flock into the 
net. What manner of man is this ? All that 
moves in the sea heeds his voice, and confesses 
his might. Astonishment seizes the humble spec- 
tators of this stupendous miracle. And, with this 
astonishment, is mingled in Simon's breast an 
overwhelming sense of his own defilement as a 
sinner. Oppressed with convictions of past guilt, 
flashing like lightning upon his troubled soul, he 
cannot bear this awful presence of a being so holy. 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 19 

He recognizes in Jesus more than man ; he sees 
the outstretched arm of Jehovah confirming his 
word; and he trembles to think that one so un- 
worthy as himself should be thus visited. " De- 
part from me. for I am a sinful man. O Lord." 
" I am undeserving of thy holy presence. 1 shrink 
from thy pure contact. I am a miserable, wretch- 
ed sinner, and what can I expect at thy hand but 
deserved punishment." 

The manifestation of Christ to the soul is al- 
ways attended with the discovery of its own guilt. 
And though he makes himself known not in wrath, 
but in love, yet will his bright presence illumine 
the dark recesses of the bosom, and unveil to our 
startled view hidden things of wickedness. If we 
have never been humbled before God, as self-con- 
demned sinners, we do not yet know Christ. 
" They that are whole need not a physician, but 
they that are sick." The first impulse of the 
awakened soul is often to bid Christ remove, — 
" Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." 
We shrink from the light of his countenance. We 
would escape these piercing convictions of defile- 
ment and unholiness. We dread the scrutiny of 
those searching eyes : we would regain, by shunning 
them, our former composure and peace. But woe 
unto us, if Christ depart at our bidding. No ! let 
us rather welcome the revealing beams of his di- 
vine light. Let us welcome the Lord himself to 



20 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

our hearts, though he come to humble us and to 
prove us, to cast us down in the dust, to break up 
our false peace, to bring low our high imagina- 
tions, to drive us from our refuges of lies, to con- 
strain us to cry, from the depth of our souls, " God 
be merciful to me a sinner." 

Not only, we gather from this passage, does 
Jesus manifest himself to the souls of all his 
people as a searcher of the heart, a detector and 
reprover of sin, a messenger of repentance in order 
to peace ; but especially will this be so to those 
whom he designs to call to his ministry. " Wo is 
me !" exclaims the prophet Isaiah, "for I am un- 
done ; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell 
among a people of unclean lips : for mine eyes 
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts/' And then 
is heard the voice of the Lord, saying, " Whom 
shall I send, and who will go for us ?" And the 
prophet, just before so overwhelmed with confu- 
sion, answers, "Here am I; send me." "Seeing 
we have this ministry," says the apostle Paul, " as 
we have received mercy, we faint not." It is 
mercy received that impels Christ's ministers to 
proclaim that mercy, and sustains them that they 
faint not. The pardoned sinner is the man to 
plead with sinners. And the sincerity, the ear- 
nestness, the faithfulness of the Lord's ambas- 
sadors will greatly correspond with their estimate 



THE CONSTRAINING SUMMONS. 21 

of the magnitude of their own debt to pardoning 
mercy and almighty love. 

Thus the Lord answers to the trembling Simon, 
" Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men." 
" Forsaking thy business on the lake, thou shalt be 
engaged, soul and body, in a work, which thy 
former craft fitly symbolizes, but which is un- 
speakably more elevated. Thou shalt let down 
the gospel net. Thou shalt gather immortal souls 
within its sacred meshes. Men shall be hence- 
forth thy nobler prey. Thou shalt seek them not 
to destroy, but to save and bless." How signally 
this promise was fulfilled, the after life of the 
great apostle is the well-known proof. The mi- 
racle of Jesus on the lake had shown, that when 
he bids cast the net, it shall not come up empty. 
And when Peter first stood boldly forth, and 
preached the gospel of a risen Saviour on the day 
of Pentecost, there was indeed enclosed in the 
net a multitude, which well corresponded with the 
miraculous draught of fishes, at the time of the 
Apostle's call. 

We cannot hope, under the altered circum- 
stances of the Church, for such ingatherings as 
made Pentecost memorable. But still the work 
is the same, and its ministers only enter upon it 
from their faith in the assurance, "from hence- 
forth thou shalt catch men." Many indeed are 
our seasons of seemingly fruitless labor. Often 



22 .LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

are we tempted to discouragement, and ready are 
we to answer to our Lord, "Master, we have toiled 
all the night, and have taken nothing/' " Sabbath 
after Sabbath is spent in exhausting labor, ser- 
mon after sermon is preached, appeal follows ap- 
peal, invitations and warnings succeed each other, 
and we witness no apparent fruit of our labors. 
No new enquirers ask the way of salvation. No 
fresh converts confess thee to be Lord and Christ. 
No additional guests approach the heavenly feast. 
Lord, who hath believed our report, and unto 
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. " The 
harvest is passed, the summer is ended, and many 
for whose souls we watch are not saved." But 
still we hear the command, " Launch out into the 
deep, and let down your nets for a draught." 
" Preach the word — be instant in season, out of 
season — reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long suf- 
fering and doctrine." "Be not weary in welldoing, 
for in due season ye shall reap, if ye faint not." 
And thus encouraged, we again cast the net. We 
labor hopefully. We deliver the message, and 
commit the result to God. And, peradventure, at 
the very time when we were most ready to des- 
pair, the blessing comes. The net which we cast 
into the sea with doubting, desponding hearts, is 
drawn to land richly filled. " Lord, at thy word 
I will again let down the net," and if one undying 
soul, one heir of immortality, one probationer for 



THE CONST RAINING SUMMONS. 23 

eternity be now brought within the sweet influ- 
ence of gospel grace, and embrace with real peni- 
tence and humble faith the gospel promise ; if 
another jewel be now added to Immanuel's crown; 
another brand rescued from the burning ; another 
trophy won to the great Redeemer ; how richly is 
all our labor overpaid, how does the costly re- 
compense exceed all that we could ask or think ! 



THE WALK UPON THE WATERS. 



MATT. XIV. 30. 

" But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid : and be- 
ginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me." 

We have briefly noticed the early life of the 
Apostle Peter, and that memorable interruption 
of its tranquil course, the call of the Lord Jesus 
Christ to the fisherman of the lake to forsake all 
and follow him. Henceforth Simon is another 
man, and his history is closely connected with 
that of the religion which must overspread the 
world and that of its great founder. He is now the 
constant companion, the inseparable follower of 
the Lord Jesus. Except at his Lord's hours of de- 
votional retirement, or when sent by him on some 
special mission, he is never absent from his side. 
How blessed a privilege must this have been, this 
daily communion, this unbroken fellowship with 
Jesus, the privilege of hearkening to his gracious 
words, of witnessing his astonishing miracles, of 
proposing to him with freedom doubts and per- 
plexities, of receiving his affectionate rebukes and 
counsels, of beholding the beauty of holiness in 
his daily life and conversation. Are we ready to 
envy the favored disciple his close and confiden- 



THE WALK UPOX ^THE VTATERS. 25 

tial intercourse with the Word made flesh? Are 
we ready to say, as the Queen of Sheba to King 
Solomon : " Happy are thy men, happy are these 
thy servants, which stand continually before thee, 
and hear thy wisdom." Do we think that we 
should have gladly shared the Redeemer's penury 
and privations, to have had this intimate compa- 
nionship with one so benevolent and compassion- 
ate, so full of heavenly wisdom, so meek and lowly, 
yet so wondrous and divine ? We can test the 
sincerity of such wishes. Do w T e love to be with 
Jesus now? To be with him in the closet, avail- 
ing ourselves of his gracious offers to lead us to 
the throne of the heavenly grace ? Do we gladly 
commune with him in those scriptures, from which 
he still addresses us in solemn heart-affecting 
words ? Do we love to be with him in the sanc- 
tuary, where he is in the midst of two or three 
gathered in his name, and at the holy table where 
he dispenses heavenly food to the penitent and 
believing ? Unless w r e have a heart to improve 
these precious means of converse with that Saviour 
who is still present to faith, we do but deceive 
ourselves in supposing that we should have for- 
saken all, with Peter and his fellow disciples, to 
follow his daily journeyings and hang upon his lips. 
The evangelists unite to assure us that the dis- 
ciples, at the Savior's call, forsook all to follow 
him ; and we find Peter himself afterwards ap- 



26 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

pealing to his Lord as a witness of the reality of 
this abandonment. " Lo ! we have forsaken all, 
and followed thee, what shall we have therefor?" 
But from one of the first miracles performed by 
the Lord after Peter's call, we gather that this 
requirement did not involve any unnecessay dis- 
ruption of the ordinary ties of domestic life. The 
relations of kindred and family were broken in 
upon, only so far as was necessary to the carrying 
out of the great object of the Apostolic mission. 
It seems to have been immediately after the sum- 
mons of the brethren from their fishing boats, that 
the Lord spent a sabbath in Capernaum, occupied 
in his usual work of publishing his gospel, and 
ministering to the afflicted. In this city Peter 
was now residing. But there was one member of 
his family, whom grievous sickness shut out from 
the place of assembly. " Simon's wife's mother 
was taken with a great fever ; and they besought 
him for her." Those longing souls, whom the pro- 
vidence of God, and not their own neglect, debars 
from attendance on public ordinances, who can- 
not come to meet Jesus in the sanctuary, Jesus 
will visit in their own homes. "He stood over 
her and rebuked the fever ; and it left her : and 
immediately she arose and ministered unto them." 
At his word of power, not only did the sickness 
depart, but the full vigor of health instantaneously 
returned. No lengthened period of gradual con- 



THE WALK UPON THE WATERS. 27 

valescence succeeded the disease, in its nature so 
prostrating, but she was enabled at once to rise 
up from her couch with renovated strength and 
perfect health, and to render the duties of hospi- 
tality to her guests. Thus was the supernatural 
character of the cure made more strikingly evi- 
dent. And it must have proved an exceeding en- 
couragement to Peter to find the power of that 
master whom he had just begun to follow, at once 
so unbounded, and so freely exerted for the relief 
of the suffering members of his servants' house- 
holds. It seemed to promise that none of those 
dependant on Christ's disciples should be losers 
by their attachment to him. He condescended 
to enter as a guest beneath the humblest roof of 
those that loved him, and wherever he came bles- 
sings entered with him. 

This incident is important in another bearing. 
One of the marked features of that corrupt Church, 
whose Papal head professes to be Peter's suc- 
cessor, is the discountenancing, in those of its 
members who claim to be holiest and most un- 
worldly, and especially forbidding to its clergy, the 
formation of domestic ties. An enforced celibacy 
shuts those, who devote themselves in this calling 
to the service of God, from the endearments of 
home, and the benign and hallowed influences that 
cluster around the Christian family. No surer plan 
could be devised of building up a great spiritual 



28 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

despotism, and of fastening a yoke upon the souls 
of men, than this separation of a priesthood from 
all the sympathies of domestic life, cutting them 
off from the softening influences of affection, and 
combining them in one compactly marshalled host, 
without individual will, or interest, or motive, 
ready to execute with implicit submission the be- 
hests of a supreme earthly authority. Most 
mighty is this instrumentality for the object of 
lording it over God's heritage, and erecting and 
maintaining an immense fabric of ecclesiastical 
domination. Thus is formed a sacerdotal caste, 
separated by an immense gulf from the great body 
of the people, whose whole aim and influence will 
be their own aggrandizement. I pause not now 
to dwell upon the amazing evils that have always 
resulted from this abuse. But this part of the his- 
tory of the Apostle Peter reminds us that the evan- 
gelists have left, as it were, their protest against 
it, in making us specially acquainted with the fact, 
that the man whom Rome exalts to a supremacy 
above all the Apostles, was a husband and the 
head of a family. That he continued to sustain 
these relations, after entering upon his apostolic 
work, is shown by the assertion of St. Paul, that 
he himself had the right, although he did not choose 
to exercise it, of forming a conjugal connection, 
and of being accompanied by his wife on his mis- 
sionary journeyings, as well as his fellow- Apostles, 



THE WALK UPOX THE WATERS. 29 

naming particularly the subject of our present re- 
marks. "Have we not power to lead about a sis- 
ter, a wife, as well as other Apostles, and as the 
brethren of the Lord, and Cephas ?" Is it not the 
finger of God that hath preserved these notices of 
this Apostle's domestic history, immaterial as they 
might at first have appeared, and yet rendered 
very important by the subsequent rise and anti- 
Christian errors of the great Apostacy ? 

The time now arrived in which it seemed good 
to the Lord, solemnly to designate a certain num- 
ber of his followers to a great office and work in 
his kingdom. But before he proceeded to invest 
them with this weighty charge, it is written, that 
" He went out into a mountain to pray, and con- 
tinued all night in prayer to God." That was a 
night to be remembered by the Church of the re- 
deemed. With what intense fervor of supplica- 
tion did the Lord Jesus pour forth his soul during 
those hours of darkness ! Not the twelve Apos- 
tles alone were embraced in those warm petitions. 
He was about to constitute his ministry, to com- 
mission and send forth those who were to make 
known the riches of his grace to a dying world. 
Their sound should go out into all the world, and 
their words unto the ends of the earth. The work 
was not to cease w r hen these, its pioneers, should 
have finished their course, and gone to their re- 
ward. The sacred trust now committed to them 
3 



30 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

was to be handed down from age to age, from 
generation to generation. It is to the prayers of 
that solemn night that we now owe a living min- 
istry, and all the blessing that rests upon that min- 
istry's labors, for time and for eternity. When 
Jesus saw the fainting multitudes scattered abroad, 
as sheep having no shepherd, he was moved with 
compassion on them, and said unto his disciples, 
" Pray ye the Lord of the harvest, that he will 
send forth laborers into his harvest." Now he 
was himself engaged in praying the Lord of the 
harvest for this great object. And what need of 
such fervent effectual prayer as Christ then offered ! 
How vast the work — how feeble the instruments ! 
How costly the treasure of the everlasting Gos- 
pel ! How frail the earthen vessels in which it is 
lodged! What amazing and far-reaching results 
hang upon this work, and its right discharge ! The 
glory of the triune God ; the carrying out the great 
object of the Redeemer's incarnation, suffering and 
death ; the spreading of that knowledge of salva- 
tion which is life from the dead ; the eternal des- 
tiny of crowding myriads of undying souls, all are 
involved in this ministry of reconciliation — all 
press upon the anxious heart of the supplicating 
Saviour — all impel him to a fervor, and intensity, 
and perseverance of petition that knows not how 
to pause. The dawning day, with its appropriate 
labors, can alone arrest his earnest wrestlings with 



THE WALK UPO^T THE WATERS. 



31 



the Father for rich and abiding blessings upon his 
ministers, his Church, his people, to the end of the 
world. Thank God, ye that hear the joyful sound, 
whom the Son hath made free indeed from the 
dominion of sin and the burden of the curse, 
thank God, for that night of prayer! 

Shall we not also gather from this account the 
connection, established by God, between fervent 
prayer, and the success of the ministry. That it 
should prove indeed a ministry of reconciliation, 
it needs to be sent forth with prayer, and to be 
sustained by prayer. And let those who complain 
of want of unction and aptness in ministers, and 
of want of profit to their souls, answer whether 
they have borne their pastors on their hearts be- 
fore the mercy-seat, and faithfully entreated God's 
abundant grace to descend upon their labors. 

" And when it was day, he called unto him his 
disciples : and of them he chose twelve whom also 
he named Apostles/' The word signifies literal- 
ly messengers or missionaries, persons sent forth 
for a specific object. Saint Mark tells us, " he 
calleth unto him w T hom he would." Christ has the 
choice of his ministers. He has never relinquished 
it, and the outward commission given by the 
Church is but her seal or attestation to the sup- 
posed previous call of Christ to the soul. "Do 
you trust that you are inwardly moved by the 
Holy Ghost to take upon you this office and min- 



32 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. / 

istration ?" is the question that must be answered, 
honestly, and in the presence of a heart-searching 
God, by those who apply for permission to minister 
in holy things. 

The selection of the Apostles, (at first twelve 
in number, corresponding with the twelve tribes 
of Israel,) has been always considered among the 
decisive evidences of the divine origin of the Gos- 
pel. They were not such men as human policy 
would choose for the establishment of a new reli- 
gion, and the effecting of a great moral revolution. 
They were not trained in the schools of philosophy, 
they were unacquainted with the arts of states- 
men, they were without learning, eloquence and 
subtlety. There was nothing in their appearance 
and manner to make a favorable impression upon 
the mass of men. On the contrary, all these things 
were against them. These Galilean fishermen 
appeared the most unlikely instruments that could 
be employed. " But God chose the foolish things 
of the world to confound the wise ; and God hath 
chosen the weak things of the world to confound 
the things which are mighty ; and base things of 
the world, and things which are despised, hath 
God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to 
bring to nought things that are ; that no flesh 
should glory in his presence." Thus w r as it mani- 
fest that the excellency of the power was of God 
and not of man. There can be no escape from 



THE "WALK UPON THE WATERS. 33 

the conclusion that these men, so deficient in what 
would seem to human judgment needful for their 
work, must have been furnished with other 
weapons for their warfare, even with those mir- 
aculous powers and gifts of the Holy Ghost, which 
made them able to cope with the powers of dark- 
ness and the hostility of the world ; and that it was 
the arm of the Lore, working with them, which 
made them every where to triumph in Christ. 
" He ordained twelve/" says St. Mark, "that they 
should be with him, and that he might send them 
forth to preach, and to have power to heal sick- 
nesses, and to cast out devils." Here are pre- 
sented to us their preparation for their work, com- 
panionship with Jesus : the work itself, to preach 
or evangelize ; they were to be eminently the 
world's evangelists : and their qualification, mir- 
aculous gifts and powers. 

In this venerable Apostolic list, the name 
placed first is that of Peter. That this circum- 
stance does not imply any primacy or supremacy 
on his part, over his brethren, is manifest from 
conclusive reasons to which we shall hereafter 
have occasion to advert. That he was a favored 
apostle, the Saviour's choice of him, together with 
James and John, on more than one very im- 
portant occasion, to be with him. is an undeniable 
proof. His being first named in the catalogue, 
was probably as well owing to these marks of 



34 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

favor, as to his advantage in years, or his being first 
named to the office by Christ, and also to the pecu- 
liar zeal and forwardness of his character. His 
fervent spirit impelled him constantly to the front 
rank. Affectionately attached to his Lord, he 
was never backward in testifying that attachment. 
He was always ready to answer, to venture and 
to promise. Not unfrequently he received severe 
rebukes of his self-confidence and rashness. But 
his bold and ardent temperament, sanctified by 
divine grace, made him a most earnest and de- 
voted disciple of Christ, and well accounts for the 
conspicuous position which he occupies among 
his brethren. Of these interesting traits of char- 
acter we are soon furnished with a marked in- 
stance. It was on the evening of a day, noted for 
one of Christ's most astonishing miracles, the feed- 
ing of the five thousand with five loaves and two 
fishes, that Jesus constrained his disciples to em- 
bark in a little vessel, and go before him to the 
other side of the lake. The language of the sacred 
writer seems to intimate an unwillingness on their 
part at this time to leave him. "He constrained 
them to get into a ship/' The necessity of using 
this constraint was probably their sympathy with 
the ambitious projects of the multitude. Aston- 
ished by this exercise of his power, and perceiving 
how easily it could overbear every obstacle or 
enemy, they were bent on placing him at once on 



THE WALK UPON THE WATERS. 35 

the throne. " When Jesus therefore perceived 
that they would come and take him by force, to 
make him a king, he departed again into a moun- 
tain himself alone." But before he sought this 
retirement, he insisted that his disciples, too much 
inclined to favor the scheme, should depart from 
the place. It was long before they could under- 
stand that his kingdom was not of this world; and 
that they who shall reign with him, must first 
suffer with him. Darkness overtakes the disciples 
on the lake, and with the darkness comes tempest 
and danger. " The sea arose by reason of a great 
wind that blew." The storm met them on their 
way and directly opposed their course, and vainly 
do they attempt by laboring at their oars to make 
head against it. Hour after hour is spent in fruit- 
less toil. They are now in the midst of the agi- 
tated lake, the fury of the tempest increases, and 
the danger grows more imminent. Are they for- 
gotten in their extremity by their absent Lord, 
and will he, who has so often exercised an appa- 
rently resistless power, will he now leave them to 
perish ? Such might have been their fears and 
complaints. Such is the prompting of our unbe- 
lieving hearts, when we are tossed upon life's 
stormy sea, when all is dark around us, when the 
winds are let loose, and the billows rage and swell, 
when destruction threatens us, and we seem to find 
no Saviour at our side. But let the account of that 



36 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

wild night's voyage comfort the agitated soul in 
similar extremity. The disciples were indeed in 
the midst of the tempest on the open sea. But 
w T ho had sent them there ? Was it not their 
Master's word which bade them embark, nay, 
which insisted upon it? And was he ignorant of 
what was in store for them ? Saw he not the ap- 
proaching storm ? Knew he not how soon they 
w T ould be tossed upon the wave, and be even at 
their wit's end? And was he now unmindful of 
their peril ? Although on the lone mountain sum- 
mit — could he not observe his struggling disciples 
buffeting the storm, and were they not even then 
safe in the hollow of his hand ? 

The way in which Christ sends us, may lead 
into trouble, danger, and dismay. The driving 
tempest and the raging waves may encounter us, 
when we have embarked at his bidding. The 
course of duty may require us to launch out into 
the agitated sea, when we would fain linger in 
the quiet harbor. But be it so : still obedience is 
our happiness and safety. Christ may send his 
followers into the midst of the tempest, but he 
will not forget or forsake them. Though he seem 
far distant upon the mount, yet are they not for- 
gotten in his intercessions, in all their afflictions 
he is afflicted, and, in his own time, he will inter- 
pose for their deliverance and assure their safety. 
Ye that are tossed by the tempest and driven be- 



THE WALK UPON THE WATERS. 37 

fore the blast, doubt not, neither despair, because 
hour after hour, and watch after watch passeth, 
and Jesus appears not. In patience possess ye 
your souls, and when the fourth watch cometh, if 
not before, the Redeemer will draw nigh. But 
when Christ appeareth to his fainting and troubled 
followers, they do not always recognize and wel- 
come him. "And about the fourth watch of the 
night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, 
and would have passed by them. But when they 
saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it 
had been a spirit, and cried out. For they all saw 
him, and were troubled." Can we be surprised 
at their consternation ? Think of the wild night — 
the fierce wind, the boiling sea, the imminent 
peril of the boatmen. And over the summit of 
those restless waves is seen, approaching in the 
dim light, an indistinct and shadowy form. Can 
it be aught mortal that wanders in such unearthly 
guise, and at such an hour, over the surface of the 
stormy lake ? That conviction deep-seated in 
the breast of man, everywhere, and under all cir- 
cumstances, w T hich the sceptic may deride, but 
which he no less certainly feels — that conviction 
of the existence of a spiritual world, and of un- 
earthly beings, bursts from them in an involuntary 
cry of terror. They suppose it to be an appa- 
rition, and to their excited imaginations it might 
3* 



38 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, 

seem the spirit of the storm, come to mock and 
destroy them. 

Wherefore should the idea of the appearance 
of a spiritual being prove so awful to the mind ? 
Why does superstition shrink and cower before 
the imaginary beings with whom it peoples the 
darkness ? And why, admitting the reality of 
such an interposition, need it be accompanied, as 
in the vision described by Eliphaz, by fear and 
trembling, making all the bones to shake, and the 
hair of the flesh to stand up ? Sin is the true 
cause of this undefinable terror. Conscience 
makes cowards of men, and guilt converts the 
supposed visitant from another world into a fear- 
ful spectre. This horror, be it causeless or real, 
is one among the many proofs that our souls, un- 
reconciled to God, are not at peace. 

But if the form terrified the disciples, the voice 
speedily reassured them. That voice which speaks 
peace and comfort to all, but the impenitent, sounds 
above the roaring of the tempest. " Be of good 
cheer, it is I, be not afraid." Cheering indeed 
must have been those familiar sounds to the af- 
frighted company. Sweet is the voice of the good 
shepherd to his flock under all circumstances, but 
how inexpressibly comforting in the darkness of 
sorrow or despair, amid the howling of the storm 
and the dashing of the billows ! Transported 
with the glad assurance of his master's presence, 



THE WALK UPON THE WATERS. 39 

the warm hearted Peter cannot restrain his im- 
patience to be with him. " Lord, if it be thou, 
bid me come unto thee on the water." " To thee 
who walkest upon the waves of the sea nothing 
is impossible. Summon me to thy side, and I will 
not hesitate to cast myself into the raging ele- 
ment, confident in thy power to sustain and save." 
'•' And he said, Come." The Saviour complied at 
once with the request, rash and presumptuous as 
it was ; for the affection which prompted it was 
acceptable in his sight, and he would moreover 
teach his disciple by a most impressive lesson in 
whom he must place his trust. "And when Peter 
was come down out of the ship, he walked on the 
water to go to Jesus/' The yielding, treacherous 
element became like a solid pavement under his 
feet, and he strangely trod upon the uncertain 
waves. And while he looked towards his Lord, 
with a single eye and a confiding heart, he sank not. 
But soon his attention is drawn to his strange and 
fearful venture, such as no mere man before him 
had ever tried. He looks away from the Saviour 
to the danger, and then his support fails. " But 
when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid: 
and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save 
me." 

" Lo," saith Bishop Hall, " Peter is walking upon 
the waves. Two hands uphold him, the hand of 
Christ's power, the hand of his own faith ; neither 



40 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

of them would do it alone. The hand of Christ's 
power laid hold on him, the hand of his faith laid 
hold on the power of Christ. Had not Christ's hand 
been powerful, that faith had been in vain ; had not 
that faith of his been strongly fixed upon Christ, 
that power had not been effectual to his preser- 
vation. While we are here in the world we walk 
upon the waters ; still the same hands bear us up. 
If he let go his hold of us, we drown ; if we let 
go our hold of him, we sink and shriek as Peter 
did ; so soon as he began to fear, he began to sink. 
While he believed, the sea was brass ; when once 
he began to distrust, those waves were water/' 

But though Peter's faith wavered, it was real, 
and when he felt himself going down into the 
depth of the sea, it fastened upon him who is 
mighty to save. " Lord, save me," bursts from the 
sinking disciple. And it was enough. Those 
three short wards, from the bottom of the heart, 
are words of power. They move the hand that 
moves the world. "And immediately Jesus 
stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and 
said, unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore 
didst thou doubt ? And when they were come 
into the ship, the wind ceased." 

Christian, your life of faith is a walk upon the 
waters. To your native powers it is as imprac- 
ticable, as would be the attempt to tread upon 
the surface of the sea. You must walk by 



THE WALK UPON THE WATERS. 41 

faith, not by sight. Let your eye be single, 
fixed upon Jesus. Though the sea on which you 
move heave and swell, though there be commo- 
tion all around you, and unfathomable depths 
beneath, yet look unto Jesus in faith and prayer, 
and you shall not sink. Or, if your courage give 
way, and you seem to be going down into the 
abyss, cry with sinking Peter, " Lord, save me/' 
and the same hand will be outstretched for your 
relief. " Whosoever believeth in him shall not 
perish." Nay, though there seem to approach you 
over the troubled waves a spectral form, dreadful 
and threatening as the king of terrors, yet shall 
your fears be calmed, and your soul strengthened 
in that hour by the well known voice, " Be of good 
cheer ; it is I ; be not afraid." 

Sinner, you too may recognize in the condition 
of the sinking Peter, a lively image of your own 
peril. You are cast out upon a storm-lashed sea. 
You are in danger of being engulphed amid raging 
waves. Xo shipwrecked struggling wretch was 
ever in greater peril, than your undying soul. 
Your own strength cannot sustain you, and except 
speedy succor come, you sink deeper than ever 
plummet sounded. There is but one hand that 
can snatch you from this jeopardy. He, who 
hearkened to the cry of his drowning apostle, is 
even now with you on the deep. His ear is not 
heavy that it cannot hear. His arm is not short- 



42 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

ened that it cannot save. Shall your cry go up 
into his open ear ? Shall your faith clasp his out- 
stretched hand ? Shall you prove his power to 
save ? Or. slighting his offered help, shall you go 
down into the abyss ? God forbid ! 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 



MATT. XVI. 17, IS, 

" And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, — 
Simon Bar-jona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto 
thee, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto 
thee, That thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my 
Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." 

This passage of holy writ deserves special at- 
tention, in view of the strange perversions that 
have been put upon it, and the unwarrantable 
inferences deduced therefrom. We may be 
well amazed at the abuse to which it has been 
subjected. The enormous structure of Papal des- 
potism is ostensibly erected upon this foundation, — 
and these few words embody the main strength 
of the claim that is made upon the whole body of 
Christians, to bow their necks to a yoke of intolera- 
ble bondage. The perversion which this passage 
has undergone, as well as its real importance in 
the life of the Apostle Peter, claim for it more 
than ordinary attention. 

The words of the text were spoken by the 
Lord in recompence of Peter's memorable confes- 
sion of his Messiahship and Divinity. Neither 
was this the first time that the Apostle had ex- 



44 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

pressed his decided conviction of these sublime 
and all-important truths. Not very long before, 
he had declared with equal fervor and boldness, in 
the very same words, his faith in his Saviour. The 
first occasion of his making this good confession, 
was at a time when many of Christ's disciples 
took offence at his discourse in the synagogue at 
Capernaum, and deserted his cause. The Lord 
had testified to them the necessity, in order to 
everlasting salvation, of faith in his sacrificial 
death and atonement for sin, under the figure of 
eating his flesh and drinking his blood. A multi- 
tude who had been attracted chiefly by his mira- 
cles, instead of humbly inquiring into the meaning 
of this emblamatic, and to their minds obscure 
and revolting language, chose to take offence, 
and make it an excuse for leaving him. "From 
that time many of his disciples went back, and 
walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto 
the twelve, will ye also go away ? Then Simon 
Peter answ T ered him, Lord, to whom shall we go ? 
Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we be- 
lieve, and are sure that thou art that Christ, the 
Son of the living God." This was truly a noble 
expression of faith in a despised and deserted Sa- 
viour. Genuine affection, reverence and trust 
gush freely and warmly from the Apostle's heart. 
The abandonment of his Lord by so many tem- 
porary adherents, only serves to draw this devoted 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 45 

follower more closely to his side. He breaks 
forth into more earnest and reverential acknowl- 
edgements of his Master's exalted character, in 
this season of depression, than when he was at- 
tended by admiring thousands. He professes his 
confidence in his real Sonship and Christly office, 
and in his exclusive possession of the words of 
eternal life. He touchingly appeals to his Master 
himself — " Lord, to whom shall we go ?" " If we 
forsake thee, whither shall we turn ? Who else 
hath a power so unbounded, a doctrine so divine ? 
Who can speak to us as thou dost of heavenly 
things, and direct us in the way of immortality 
and life ?" Grateful to the Saviour's heart, we 
cannot doubt, was this prompt and heartfelt con- 
fession of his claims, and though at the time he 
uttered no approving answer, yet it must have 
been in his mind when he gave so remarkable a 
promise to his Apostle, on the subsequent repeti- 
tion of his firm belief. 

Would that all who are tempted to draw back 
from a Saviour, whom they have once pledged 
themselves to follow, might lay to heart the Apos- 
tle's answer, when his Lord so affectingly asked, 
"Will ye also go away ?" " Lord, to whom shall we 
go ?" Whither shall they betake themselves who 
abandon Jesus ? There may be trials and diffi- 
culties in his service. The way of obedience, you 
argue, seems rough and forbidding. The cross to 



46 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, 

be taken up is heavy — the saying of Jesus is hard. 
Grant it all. But to whom will you go ? He hath 
"the words of eternal life." He and he alone. He 
is himself " The Way, the Truth, and the Life/' 
What other master promises to the sinner, par- 
don ; to the alien, peace with God ; to the impo- 
tent, strength ; to the tempted, grace ; to the 
dying, immortality ? And if you desert him, where 
in the wide universe is the being who can save 
your soul from death, and shelter you from the 
wrath to come ? We care not now to gainsay 
and refute the objections that are made by the 
sin-loving, worldly heart, against his pure doctrine 
and his holy service. Let it be so. Suppose that 
his ways, instead of being pleasantness and peace, 
are toilsome and rough. Grant that his yoke is 
not easy, neither his burden light. Suppose all 
the false accusations of his enemies against his re- 
ligion to be correct ; and still the question recurs, 
— recurs with undiminished force and power — to 
whom beside will you go ? He hath the words 
of eternal life. For you as an accountable being, 
as a sinner, as destined to judgment, as an heir of 
eternity, there is but one recourse, one Saviour, 
one hope. And if you forsake Jesus, you draw 
back unto inevitable perdition. 

The subsequent repetition of his faith by the 
Apostle Peter, was in answer to the question of 
his Lord, respecting the impressions that prevailed 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 47 

as to his character. " Who do men say that I, 
the Son of Man, am?" After their reply, stating 
the different opinions that were maintained, all 
agreeing in attributing to Jesus an unusual and 
prophetic character, he puts a second question 
directly to themselves : " But whom say ye that I 
am ?" The same fervor and affection that impelled 
Peter to be forward on other occasions, manifested 
themselves now. But he spake not for himself alone, 
but for his brethren. " Simon Peter answered and 
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living 
God." " Thou art the promised Messiah, the long- 
expected consolation of Israel ; and not only so, 
thou art the Only-Begotten Son of the Father, the 
Word, the brightness of the Father's glory and 
the express image of his person." In answer to 
this prompt and noble acknowledgment, as an 
evidence how acceptable and precious is such 
faith in his sight, the Lord uttered the words that 
have been the occasion of so much abuse and so 
much controversy, " Blessed art thou, Simon Bar- 
jona, (son of Jonas,) for flesh and blood hath not 
revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in 
heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou 
art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my 
church ; and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of 
the kingdom of heaven ; and whatsoever thou 
shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven ; and 



48 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be 
loosed in heaven/' My chief difficulty in the pre- 
sent treatment of this passage, is to compress, with- 
in the limited space of a single discourse, a satis- 
factory view of the questions that have arisen 
from it. Before giving what I conceive to be 
the true meaning of the text, I will refer to the 
Romish interpretation, and to the consequen- 
ces that have been attached thereto. It is briefly 
this : — 

1. The rock on which the Christian Church is 
built is Peter. 

2. The words of Christ conferred on Peter a 
supremacy over his brethren, and over the whole 
Church. The grant of the keys invested him with 
an infallible judgment in doctrine, an authority 
final and without appeal in all controversies of 
faith, a supreme lordship over all matters ecclesi- 
astical, an authority to remit or retain sins, and 
constituted him the vicar or representative of 
Christ on earth, with powers equal to those that 
the Saviour would have if personally present.* 

3. This power, in all its plenitude, was to con- 
tinue to the end of time in Peter's successors. 

4. The Popes, or Bishops of Rome, are Peter's 
successors. 

5. The Romish Church is therefore the Church 
to which the promise applies, that the gates of hell 

* Barrow on the Pope's Supremacy, &c, &c. 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 49 

shall not prevail. It is therefore the infallible de- 
pository of the truth; is guarded from all possibility 
of defection or error ; and all men to whom suffi- 
cient light is given are bound to connect them- 
selves with it, under peril of eternal damnation. 

Thus, you perceive, the consequence of this 
long and monstrous deduction is a practical mat- 
ter. A claim derived therefrom is addressed to 
every soul, requiring under the most dreadful of 
all penalties, immediate and entire submission to 
an amazing system of spiritual despotism. And 
this claim is urged with so much speciousness, 
artfulness and boldness, as to beguile multitudes 
of unstable souls, and to lead many even who have 
known the way of truth to make shipwreck of their 
faith. It is evident that in this chain link is fas- 
tened to link — of this edifice, stone is piled upon 
stone. If but a single link be severed, the chain 
is broken. If one stone be removed, the whole 
proud Babel crumbles to the dust. Now, in point 
of truth, not one link alone, but all the links can be 
broken. Each of them is w r eak and unsound, and 
cannot bear examination. But if one be severed, 
it is enough for our cause. So that if Peter be 
not the rock on which the Church is built ; or if 
his being made a rock, by no means makes him 
the Supreme and Infallible Head of the Church ; 
or if the power or privilege, whatever it was, that 
w T as conferred upon him was altogether personal, 



50 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

and not to descend to successors ; or if the Bish- 
ops of Rome are not his successors ; if either of 
these points be established, then the whole edifice 
falls to the ground. The Church against which 
the gates of hell shall not prevail, is not Rome, and 
submission to her usurpations, and participation 
in her idolatries, so far from being a duty, may be, 
and, as we gather from many parts of Scripture, is 
a very grievous sin, a most perilous delusion. I 
advert briefly to these points in order. 

1. Is Peter the Rock on which the Church is 
built ? Many of the most learned interpreters, 
and those not merely moderns, but some of the 
most esteemed of the ancient fathers who lived 
before the period of Romish usurpation, and who 
knew nothing of the disputes that should arise 
from this passage, understand by the rock here, 
the confession of faith which Peter had just made. 
" Upon this great truth, this confession of my Mes- 
siahship and Divinity, shall my Church be reared/' 
And the favorers of this interpretation observe 
that although Peter or " Petros" signify a stone : 
yet Christ here uses another word, " Petra," de- 
noting a solid and immoveable rock. This opin- 
ion is entitled to great respect from the character 
of those who have held it, among whom was St. 
Chrysostom*. But what if we admit that as the pro- 

* " This sense even Popes have embraced." Barrow — p. 9*7. 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 51 

mise was made to Peter, as a recompense for his 
zeal and faith, he may be intended ? In what sense, 
can Peter be the foundation? Certainly in the 
same sense in which all the Apostles are elsewhere 
so designated. As in the Epistle to the Ephesians, 
Christians are said to "be built upon the founda- 
tion of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ 
himself being the Head of the corner/' And thus 
also in the description of the New Jerusalem, in 
the Apocalypse, it is said, " The wall of the city 
had twelve foundations, and in them the names of 
the twelve Apostles of the Lamb." All the Apos- 
tles then, nay, the Prophets or inferior teachers 
also, were in one sense foundations of the Church. 
Upon their labors and doctrine Christ built it up. 
And of these foundation-stones none more honored 
than the Apostle Peter, since upon him first, both 
the Jewish and Gentile converts were built up into 
the Church. But that this designation of the Apos- 
tles, and of Peter especially, does not make them 
the firm foundation upon which the whole Church 
of the redeemed rests, is evident from multiplied 
passages. This interpretation makes the Scriptures 
contradict themselves. For we are told expressly, 
"Other foundation can no man lay than that is 
laid, which is Jesus Christ." We desire no stronger 
testimony to this point than that of the Apostle 
Peter himself, in his first Epistle : " To whom (i. e. 
to Christ) coming as unto a living stone, disal- 



52 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

lowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and pre- 
cious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spirit- 
ual house ; . . . . wherefore, also, it is contained in 
the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner- 
stone, elect, precious ; and he that believeth on 
him shall not be confounded. Unto you, there- 
fore, which believe, he is precious ; but unto them 
which be disobedient, the stone which the builders 
disallowed, the same is made the head of the cor- 
ner, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of of- 
fence, even to them which stumble at the word, 
being disobedient/' Is this the language of a man 
who supposed himself to be substituted for Jesus 
Christ, as the foundation of the Church of God ? 
Deplorable, indeed, would be our condition, if we 
had only a frail mortal like ourselves as the rock 
on which rests our eternal hope. Let others 
choose, if they will, to desert our Immanuel, this 
corner-stone, elect and precious, to build upon a 
poor fellow-sinner. "|Their rock is not as our Rock, 
our enemies themselves being the judges." Upon 
Jesus, and upon him alone, let us build our house, 
and no storms shall overthrow, no floods shall under- 
mine it. "For whoso believeth on Him shall not 
be confounded." So far, then, as the first point is 
concerned, it is<evident from Scripture, that while 
Peter, and not he alone, but his fellow Apostles 
also, are called foundations of the Church, yet it 
is in a sense entirely different from that in which 



THE GOOD COXFESSIOX. 53 

Christ is the foundation. And inasmuch as the 
Romish sense would thrust Christ out of his place, 
and destroy the whole testimony of the word of 
God as to his being the Head of the Corner; and 
inasmuch as this designation being also given to 
the other Apostles wholly disproves any peculiar 
privilege of Peter, therefore the first step in this 
argumentation is false — the first link of the chain, 
when it is proved, snaps asunder, and the whole 
sequence falls, God forbid that you and I should 
have no stronger dependence to bear us up in the 
day of trial. 

2. The words of Christ conferred on the Apos- 
tle no supreme lordship over his brethren and the 
whole Church, invested him with no infallible au- 
thority beyond his fellow Apostles in controversies 
of faith, and did not constitute him in any special, 
exalted sense the vicar of Christ on earth. As to 
the alleged lordship or supremacy, the next page 
of the gospel of St. Matthew is utterly contradic- 
tory to it. "At that time came the disciples unto 
Jesus, saying, who is the greatest in the kingdom of 
heaven ?" Certainly the Apostles themselves could 
not have understood the Saviour's language as in- 
vesting Peter with this pretended headship, or the 
question would have been wholly out of place. 
But if the Lord had so intended he would at once 
have replied, " Why that point has just been set- 
tled. By giving Peter the keys, I have constituted 
4 



54 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

him the greatest in my kingdom, and you must all 
submit to him/' But what is the Saviour's reply? 
" And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set 
him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say 
unto you, except ye be converted, and become as 
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom 
of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble 
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in 
The kingdom of heaven." The same unseemly 
strife for preeminence occurred among them at the 
last supper, and was rebuked by their Lord in 
equally decisive terms. " And he said unto them, 
The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over 
them ; and they that exercise authority upon them 
are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so : 
but he that is greatest among you let him be as 
the younger; and he that is chief as he that doth 
serve." Could our Lord have spoken more plainly 
on this point ? And in the history of the Apos- 
tles we find no shadow of claim of Peter to any 
such superiority, nor any evidence on the part of 
the other Apostles that they supposed such defer- 
ence and submission to be his due. On the con- 
trary, we find repeated confutations of such an as- 
sumption. No directions are given in the epistles 
as to the obedience required of Christians to the 
Vicar of Christ on earth, which would be, on the 
Romish supposition, a strange and unaccountable 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. §5 

omission.* In the assembly or council of the Apos- 
tles, elders, and brethren, at Jerusalem, recorded in 
Acts xv., the matter in question was not submitted 
to Peter's infallible determination, ancl if any Apos- 
tle presided there, it was not Peter, but James. 

As to the supposed grant of infallibility, it is 
remarkable that we have on record more instances 
of mistake on the part of this Apostle, than of any 
of his brethren. One of these took place imme- 
diately after this address of Christ. No sooner 
had the Lord thus highly commended his faith, 
than he had occasion to rebuke him for his im- 
proper suggestion, in terms of uncommon severity. 
"Get thee behind me, Satan; thou art an offence 
unto me ; for thou savorest not the things that be 
of God, but those that be of men/*' On the Mount 
of Transfiguration, Peter erred in desiring his 
Master to abide there for ever, leaving the atone- 
ment unaccomplished, and the world unredeemed. 
In the garden of Gethsemane, he erred by smiting 
with the sword to defend him ; in the High Priest's 
palace, most grievously, by denying him. And long 
after this, he was so inclined to yield to the over- 
bearing Judaizers in the Church, that his brother 
Apostle, Paul, " withstood him to the face, because 
he was to be blamed." Was this becoming con- 
duct on St. Paul's part to the infallible Head of 

* Barrow on Pope's Supremacy, 163. 



56 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

the Church, or does it consist with the slightest 
idea that Christ had deputed this Apostle as his 
vicar and representative ? The whole tenor, there- 
fore, of the subsequent Apostolic history, is utterly 
incompatible with this bold assertion of a supreme 
headship, now established by the Saviour in his 
Church. If you seek scriptural allusions to Papal 
authority, you must look for them, not in the pas- 
sage before us, but in others of a very different 
tenor: Daniel vii. 20-25; 2 Thess ii. 3-10; 1 Tim. 
iv. 1-3; Rev. xvii. We find no such enormous 
grant conferred on Peter, here or elsewhere, but 
we do read of "that man of sin to be revealed, 
who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that 
is called God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, 
as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing him- 
self that he is God/' 

3. The third link of this chain of assumptions 
is, that the authority or privilege conferred upon 
Peter should pass to his successors. This again 
we deny, any further than the gospel ministry 
generally is concerned. Observe that in other 
passages, promises are made in the same language 
to all the Apostles. In speaking of offences re- 
quiring discipline, (Matt, xviii. 18.) the Saviour 
engages to ratify their godly decisions. " Verily, 
I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, 
shall be bound in heaven : and whatsoever ye shall 
loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven/'' Thus 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 



57 



the promise is not peculiar to Peter, but on this 
occasion Christ solemnly invested him with that 
Apostolic authority, which afterwards was com- 
municated to his brethren. But so far as a special 
recompence was intended to Peter for his good 
confession, it was wholly personal, and not to pass 
to any successors. We may thus paraphrase the 
passage. " Blessed art thou, Simon, for flesh and 
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Fa- 
ther which is in heaven. Thou hast not learned 
this great truth from man, neither did thy own 
unassisted reason teach it thee. It is the gift of 
God. His Holy Spirit hath enlightened thy dark- 
ness, overcome thy prejudices, and impelled thee 
to welcome me as thy Saviour, and to bow to me 
as thy Lord. And in recompence of thy prompt 
and grateful acknowledgment, I assure thee, that 
as I have already named thee, Petros, a stone; so 
thou shalt be, as an honored Apostle, one of the 
foundation stones of my Church; that Church 
which I will surely build upon myself, the elect and 
precious corner stone, and upon the holy truth thou 
hast first professed ; and so firmly establish that 
death itself, the gate of Hades, or the world invisi- 
ble, shall have no power to destroy it ; but it shall 
continue so long as the world endureth, and gather 
generation after generation within its sacred walls, 
until time shall be no more. And not only do I 
endue thee, in common with thy fellow Apostles, 



5S LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PtfTER. 

with authority to declare my gospel under the un- 
erring guidance of my Spirit; to publish with au- 
thority the terms of salvation ; to declare what part 
of the old dispensation is binding, and what is re- 
pealed; to declare the sins of the penitent and be- 
lieving forgiven; and to testify to the stubborn and 
impenitent that they are yet under condemnation 
— but I also bestow on thee this peculiar favor ; I 
give unto thee in a special manner the keys of the 
kingdom of heaven, that Church which I am about 
to establish. Thou art chosen first to use those 
keys. It shall be thy privilege to unlock the door 
of that kingdom, both to Jews and Gentiles. Thou 
shalt be the first to announce, after my ascension 
to heaven, that the kingdom is open to all be- 
lievers, and shalt be signally honored and blessed 
in drawing multitudes to enter it. 5 ' This was 
Christ's promise, and it was signally fulfilled, first, 
when Peter stood up at Jerusalem, on the day of 
Pentecost, and so testified for Christ that there 
were added to his Church the same day three 
thousand souls ; and, secondly, when God made 
choice of him to preach the gospel to Cornelius 
and his fellow Gentiles, thus making manifest the 
breaking down of the middle wall of partition be- 
tween Jew and Gentile. Thus the promise, so far 
as it did not embrace the twelve, was a personal 
promise to Peter, terminating in himself, and there 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 59 

is no shadow of scripture proof for extending it 
to any successors. 

4. The fourth link of the chain is, if anything, 
weakest of all, viz : that the Popes of Rome are 
Peter's successors, and heirs of all this pretended 
immense grant of infallibility and supremacy. It 
is doubtful whether Peter ever was at Rome at 
al!. # If he were there, and even founded that 
Church, which is without any proof, there is not 
a shadow of evidence that he remained there as 
its Bishop. He was the apostle of the Circum- 
cision, and sought out the dispersed Jews in the 
divers regions which they inhabited; and his Apos- 
tleship, being of this missionary character, was 
incompatible with the Diocesan government of a 
particular Church. If reliance in this matter is to 
be placed upon ancient testimony, it would rather 
assign him to the see of Antioch than of Rome. 
There is no reasonable ground therefore to believe 
that he ever held this office. And if it were ever 
so clearly made out, it would not thence follow 
that the Popes are his successors, or that his 
mantle and his prerogatives have devolved upon 
them. The whole claim is barefaced assumption; 
and is properly met by downright, peremptory de- 
nial. It is in fact the fruit of worldly ambition. 
It grew first out of the ancient grandeur of Rome 

* Barrow, p. ISO. 



60 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, 

as the metropolis of the world. The Church par- 
took of the importance and wealth of the city. It 
acquired, from that source, a degree of influence 
and consequence. Its chief pastor was regarded 
with correspondent respect and deference — and 
thus was temptation presented to his ambition. 
And as a pretext for this aggrandizement and lord- 
ship over God's heritage, the passage before us 
was seized upon, and wrested in the manner that 
has been described. 

But examine this towering and portentous 
structure, and you find its foundation on the sand. 
And it is an instructive comment upon this proud 
claim to supremacy and infallibility, to note into 
w r hat grievous and Anti-Christian errors this 
Church has been left to fall. I need not recount 
the fearful catalogue of her corruptions of the 
faith. God be thanked that we have been de- 
livered from her oppressive yoke, though not with- 
out the blood of our martyred forefathers. Let 
us stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith 
Christ hath made us free, and not be entangled 
again with the yoke of bondage. 

Before leaving the passage, I ask you to observe 
for a moment two points unconnected with its 
controversial aspect. First, note the blessedness 
of a heartfelt confession of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
The Saviour pronounces a blessing upon his Apos- 
tle who was most forward in uttering it. Peter 



THE GOOD CONFESSION. 61 

was, as we perceive from his subsequent history, 
in many things ignorant and prejudiced. He com- 
mitted faults. He fell into sins. His future life 
was to be one of poverty, privation, and perse- 
cution ; his death violent and bloody. And yet he 
is pronounced by his Lord himself, blessed, or 
happy — for he knew Christ, and was willing to 
acknowledge him. His heart rejoiced in the dis- 
covery of his Saviour — and his lips gladly con- 
fessed him to be both Lord and Christ. Forget 
not, then, that Saviour's emphatic words. — "Who- 
soever shall confess me before men, him will I 
also confess before my Father which is in heaven. 
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will 
I also denv before mv Father which is in heaven/' 
Peter confessed that Saviour in the season of his 
humiliation. Do any of you hesitate to confess 
him now that he is on his throne of glory ? 

Secondly, observe the fulfilment, at this day, of 
Christ's promise concerning his Church. The 
gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. Christ's 
Churfch, after 1800 years of trial and warfare, is 
still upon the earth. The rage of Satan, and the 
opposition of the powers of darkness have not 
been able to exterminate it. Time, which has 
overthrown and buried so many proud and 
powerful kingdoms of this world, has not swept 
it away. Death itself, (which is supposed to be 
the more accurate meaning of the expression, 
4 # 



62 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

"the gates of Hades/') hath been powerless to 
destroy it. Its members are continually dying, 
but the Church itself never dies. It is abiding, 
perpetual, immortal. You have it with all its pri- 
vileges, and means of grace, and covenant mer- 
cies, as fully and truly as the disciples of the Apos- 
tolic age. It will live. It will continue to testify 
of Christ and things divine and heavenly, to invite 
the sinner, to welcome the returning penitent, to 
build up the Lord's people in their most holy faith, 
until the mystery is finished, the Lord himself 
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the 
voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of 
God. And, then, that spiritual kingdom which was 
set up on this earth, shall outlive earth itself; and 
endure an everlasting monument of redeeming 
love and grace; for it is founded upon a Rock. 
And that Rock is not a mere man, not a creature, 
but the elect and precious corner stone laid in Zion, 
even Christ Jesus himself, who is over all, God 
blessed for ever. Amen. 



THE SEVERE REBUKE 



MATTHEW XVI. 22, 23. 
" Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it 
far from thee, Lord ; this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, 
and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan ; thou art an of- 
fence unto me ; for thou savorest not the things that be of God, 
but those that be of men." 

This rebuke of the Apostle, whose life we are 
now reviewing, has been noticed in connection 
with his Lord's commendatory language, immedi- 
ately preceding it, which has been so strangely 
wrested. It would seem as if there w T ere specially 
intended, by that Holy Ghost who guided the pen 
of the Evangelists, in the close connection of these 
two passages, a positive and solemn contradic- 
tion of the forced meaning that would be after- 
wards put upon the first. The Church of Rome, 
in order to find some Scripture argument for her 
high-handed usurpations, and oppressive lordship 
over God's heritage, claims that the Saviour's an- 
swer to Peter's good confession invested him with 
an infallible judgment in all matters pertaining to 
the faith, so that he could neither err himself, nor 
could his pretended successors err till the end of 
time. But the Lord hath taken care that the very 



64 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

next incident of the Gospel history should be suf- 
ficient to scatter this proud assertion to the winds. 
— No sooner have these words, which have been 
thus signally perverted, fallen from the lips of 
Christ, than the same x\postle plunges into a most 
grievous error, upon a point of vital consequence. 
He undertakes to advise his Lord, and dissuade 
him from his proposed passion and death, and re- 
ceives in return one of the most withering reproofs 
which that meek and lowly One ever uttered. 
And the very point and occasion of that rebuke 
is his inexcusable want of discernment in spiritual 
things, his betrayal of so earthly a judgment and 
so carnal a heart. The contrast, indeed, between 
the commendation and the reproof is highly in- 
structive. It is at once a most overwhelming dis- 
proof of the baseless and arrogant pretensions of 
the Papacy; and also an affecting comment on the 
weakness, blindness, and fallibility of man, even 
when most honored and privileged. On the very 
same day, we find this Apostle commended most 
honorably for his faith and attachment to his Lord, 
and reproved in terms of the utmost severity for 
his blindness and unbelief. One moment he is the 
most favored of the Apostles, a chosen foundation- 
stone of the Church, presented with the keys of 
the kingdom of heaven ; and the next, he is visited 
with his Lord's stern displeasure, and addressed 
as if he were Satan himself, the great enemy of 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 65 

God and man, Surely such an incident, in the 
life of such an Apostle, should teach us to cease 
from man, whose breath is in his nostrils, for 
wherein is he to be accounted of. We learn that 
man, in his best estate, is subject to error and pre- 
judice. Those who seem most deserving of our 
confidence, if we repose in them that implicit trust 
which is due only to the word of our Maker, may 
lead us astray. God be thanked that we have his 
safe, and sure, and infallible word as "a light to 
our feet, and a lamp to our path/' "Our faith," 
therefore, " standeth not in the wisdom of men, but 
in the power of God." Even a Peter, whose 
knowledge of Christ is not derived from flesh and 
blood, but from our Father in heaven ; and who is 
called blessed by the Master's own lips, and num- 
bered among his confidential friends and chosen 
Apostles, may, in his advice and counsel, savor of 
the things that be of men, rather than of the things 
that be of God. Even he is to be listened to, only 
so far as he is sustained by the lively oracles of 
God. While then it becomes every Christian to 
recognize his individual frailty and liability to 
error, to distrust himself, to receive with meekness 
and docilitv the instructions of the stewards and 
watchmen of his Lord's household, he is at the 
same time authorized and required to go to the 
holy Scripture, as the ultimate arbiter of his faith. 
He is, with the Bereans, to search the Scrip- 



66 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tures in an humble, honest, prayerful spirit, to as- 
certain whether these things be so. From this 
great privilege and bounden duty, no man, no 
minister, no Church has the right to debar him. 
God himself hath spoken to man in his blessed 
word — hath spoken distinctly and intelligibly ; and 
man may, therefore, and ought to listen reverently 
to the voice of God. But while we claim and use 
this most invaluable privilege, let us remember 
that we are no more exempt from prejudice and 
error than others; and let us cultivate that spirit 
of humility and candor, and that sincere depend- 
ance on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which are 
the best safeguard against mistake. If even a 
Peter stumbled and erred so greatly, let us not be 
high-minded, but fear. And let us not forget that 
the times in which we are most lifted up, when we 
think we have made some special attainments in 
knowledge or grace, are the very times of chiefest 
peril. 

It seems that our Saviour, immediately after 
assenting to the truth of Peter's confession, and 
thus solemnly reassuring his followers that he was 
the expected Messiah and the Son of the living 
God, thought it necessary to moderate their high- 
raised anticipations, by speaking to them of his 
approaching sufferings and ignominious death. 
" From that time forth began Jesus to show unto 
his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 57 

and suffer many things of the elders, and chief- 
priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised 
again the third day." As if he would say to them. 
'• You expect that I, your acknowledged Messiah 
and Prince, will speedily ascend the throne of 
David, and exalt my people to greatness and glory. 
You are dreaming of an earthly kingdom, with all 
its rewards, riches and honors. But far different 
is the reality. I came now upon earth to suffer, 
rather than to reign. The way to my throne is 
by the cross and the tomb. Dismiss these vain 
expectations. Know yourselves to be the disci- 
ples of a despised and suffering Master, and seek 
your recompense in another world than this." 
The mention by his Lord of these approaching 
indignities and cruel inflictions greatly excited the 
Apostle Peter. It seems to have shocked alike his 
ambition and his affection. Tenderly attached to 
his Master, he cannot bear to hear of his subjection 
to such insults and sufferings. Elated with the 
commendations which he had just received, and 
indulging new and higher hopes of earthly dis- 
tinction, he is unwilling to be convinced that they 
are all baseless. He proceeds therefore to remon- 
strate with him in a tone of mingled affection and 
authority, deprecating such an event, and urging 
him to dismiss altogether such unweicome 
thoughts. He seems to think that his Saviour's 
recent words of approbation gave him some right 



68 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

to interfere with his plans, and to counsel him as a 
friend. " Then Peter took him, and began to re- 
buke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord; this 
shall not be unto thee/' " Wherefore, Lord, indulge 
such gloomy forebodings, or why harbor the pur- 
pose of exposing thyself to such a doom ? This 
must not be. We can by no means consent that 
thou, who art so dear to us, shouldest incur such 
dangers, or submit to so undeserved and cruel a 
fate. Dismiss, we entreat thee, all such thoughts, 
and prepare rather to vindicate thy lofty claims, and 
to take speedy possession of that royalty which is 
justly thine." 

Now there was certainly much of tenderness 
mingled with this remonstrance of the warm- 
hearted Apostle. And we may at first be struck 
with astonishment at the peculiar severity of the 
Saviour's answer. "But he turned, and said unto 
Peter, get thee behind me, Satan ; thou art an 
offence unto me : for thou savorest not the things 
that be of God, but those that be of men." But 
think, for a moment, what would have been the 
consequence of following Peter's counsel. The 
purport of it was to keep back the Redeemer from 
his cross — that cross which should be the altar of 
the great atoning sacrifice, and whereunto should 
be nailed all the sins of his ransomed people. And 
what would this have been but to have made void 
the great purpose of redeeming love ; to have left 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 69 

the world unredeemed — sinners under the unre- 
pealed curse, the whole creation still groaning and 
travailing in hopeless, helpless anguish? The Son 
of the blessed came to earth to reconcile earth and 
heaven by his painful life and agonizing death — 
to pour forth a blood, speaking better things than 
that of Abel ; crying for pardon and not for ven- 
geance; proclaiming peace and not condemnation; 
washing out the crimson stains of our guilt, and 
purging our consciences from dead works to serve 
the living God. The salvation of a lost world, 
the recovery of untold multitudes of immortal 
beings from sin and wrath, hung upon that hour 
of agony. What was Peter's suggestion, therefore, 
but urging the Redeemer to give up his purpose 
of heavenly compassion, and to forego the rich 
recompence of the travail of his soul ? He knew 
not indeed what he said. But it was in truth say- 
ing unto his Lord, " Spare thyself this burden of 
sorrow and suffering : consult thine own ease : 
Leave sinners to their fate. Withhold the price- 
less treasures of thy purposed grace, and let men 
go down to the abyss of woe, unpitied and unre- 
lieved." 

This was the purport of Peter's remonstrance. 
And though himself unconscious of the import of 
his words, yet his presumption in attempting to 
instruct his master, justly deserved the scathing 
rebuke which followed. How well is it, that all 



70 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

matters pertaining to our redemption and salva- 
tion, are ordered, not by the hasty judgment and 
narrow views of man, but by the infinite wisdom 
and unbounded mercy of the Triune God. And 
still more reason is there to notice with admiration 
the love of Jesus, in this language of reprehension, 
rather than its sternness. How does his divine 
compassion, his heavenly benevolence breathe 
in these words, of apparent anger ? Oh how 
strongly did love for our ruined souls and zeal for 
our salvation impel the willing victim to the sacri- 
ficial altar? He thinks of the great and precious 
results of his submission to death. He looks on- 
ward to the day when he shall see of the travail 
of his soul and be satisfied. When does he display 
such indignation as when it is attempted to keep 
him back from his cross ? He contemplates the 
great victory over the power of Satan, the eternal 
glory that shall redound to God, the peopling of 
the many mansions of his Father's House with 
ransomed, blood- washed souls, meet for the inheri- 
tance of the saints in light. And he spurns from 
him the first whisper of abandonment of his holy 
purpose. Let one of his dearest friends and 
chiefest Apostles name such a thing, and he 
straightway appears to him as the great adversary 
of God and man. For what could be more truly 
the desire of Satan, than to hinder the redemption 
of the world ? What counsel more in consonance 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 71 

with diabolical designs and wishes, than to keep 
back the Redeemer from his cross, and abandon 
the world to perish in its own corruption. Let 
the motive in the speaker's breast be what it may, 
let it be misguided tenderness and ignorant affec- 
tion, he treated it with no indulgence. It was a 
Satanic proposal, under the mask of friendship. 
It savored not of divine wisdom and goodness, 
but of carnal policy and self indulgence. It 
would withdraw the mind of Jesus, from the high 
and noble objects of his mission, to his personal 
endurances. It would seek to implant in his pure 
breast a selfish consideration of his own ease and 
exemption from sorrow, such as would overlook 
the amazing and glorious fruits of his agonies and 
blood. I see, as the most prominent feeling in 
this apparently harsh language, mercy to our lost 
world, love to our sinful souls. Unworthy as we 
are of such an intervention, our salvation was 
unspeakably precious to our Lord. When but a 
whisper is breathed to him of abandoning his pur- 
pose, how indignant is his repulse ? " Away," he 
exclaims, "with this insidious suggestion, this mis- 
placed tenderness, this pretence of sparing me the 
anguish of the cross. Thou, who durst name such 
a thing to me, art no longer Peter, a chosen foun- 
dation stone of the Church, but Satan, the great 
adversary. Thou art an offence unto me, a hin- 
drance in my way, a stumbling block in my path. 



72 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Thy counsel is not of God, but of the earth, 
earthy. No consideration of personal ease shall 
detain me from my purpose, or prevent me from 
pressing on with steadfast resolution, and unfalter- 
ing step, to that painful death which has been be- 
fore my eyes from the beginning." 

And if Jesus be so indignant at any attempt to 
keep him from that cross which he would endure for 
sinners, shall he be less so at any attempts to keep 
back sinners themselves from that cross which is 
their only hope ? What are efforts to shake men's 
faith in the great atonement of the Lamb of God ; 
to hold in reserve the precious doctrine, instead 
of publishing it far and wide ; to deny the worth of 
that propitiatory sacrifice, and disparage the effi- 
cacy of that most precious blood ? What are such 
efforts but attempts of the great adversary to 
hinder men's salvation ? It is the will of God that 
the finished and glorious redemption of the cross 
be published over the earth — that all for whom 
Jesus died should be made acquainted with the 
object of his death ; that men, everywhere and un- 
der all circumstances, should be pointed to the 
Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the 
world. Proclaim it, as with the blast of a trum- 
pet, from the house-top — -tell it out among the 
heathen — testify it to high and low, to young 
and old, to the learned and the ignorant, to the 
living and the dying, that a crucified Redeemer is 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 73 

able to save them to the uttermost, and that there 
is salvation in none other. Let the man of most 
rigid morality and the vilest profligate know that 
they must be saved just alike, by grace, through 
faith in the sacrifice of the son of God. And let 
every attempt to conceal or disparage that most 
vital doctrine, of the free and complete justifica- 
tion of every sincere believer in that glorious re- 
demption, be accounted as the work of him whose 
aim is to destroy immortal souls. 

Another important lesson to be gathered from 
this passage, and one of which we all need to be 
constantly reminded, is the necessity of the disci- 
ple of Jesus taking up his cross also, and imbibing 
the self-denying spirit of his Lord. Peter's sug- 
gestion is exceedingly common. It rises in our 
own hearts, when religion presents its sacrifices 
and trials. It induces misguided friends to oppose 
the entrance of those whom they love into the 
way of life, or to dissuade them from pressing on 
in the path of obedience. How often does a mis- 
placed tenderness interfere with the dictates of 
faith, and the resolves of duty? How often does 
a sincere but erroneous affection exclaim to one 
who is seeking to serve and glorify God — " Spare 
thyself: this shall not be unto thee." The young 
are giving heed to that voice which earnestly 
cries, " Remember now thy Creator in the days of 
thy youth, ere the evil days come ;" and straight- 



74 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

way there are counsellors ready to represent the 
hardship of turning at such a season from the fol- 
lies of the world, and foregoing what they call the 
fit enjoyments of youth. " Spare thyself the 
gloomy austerities of religion, and postpone as 
long as possible its irksome restraints. " The ma- 
ture and busy man becomes thoughtful of his eter- 
nal interests, and almost persuaded to be a Chris- 
tian ; and he is frightened from his purpose by 
suggestions that religion will interfere with his 
business, impair his influence, expose him to un- 
kind observation and censorious remarks. The 
man who is addicted to some pernicious habit, 
meditates to break from its bondage ; but the strug- 
gle appears too arduous, and the sacrifice too se- 
vere, and he shrinks back disheartened, to plunge 
into fresh indulgencies. How frequently and how 
fatally does Satan assume the mask of friendship, 
kindness and tenderness ! A man's foes are oft 
those of his own household, laboring, in their sup- 
posed concern for his happiness, to clog his efforts, 
damp his zeal, and save him from the imagined 
discomforts and burdens of a decided Christian 
life. A walk above the world, a heavenly conver- 
sation, an humble following of the blessed foot- 
steps of the Redeemer, an anxiety to benefit and 
save our fellow sinners, a watchful dread of evil, a 
desire to keep one's-self unspotted from sin, oft 
draw down the remonstrances of irreligious friends. 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 75 

The world, and the followers of the world, regard 
with dislike practical Christianity. They think 
no trouble or hardship too great if the object 
be a worldly one ; but any self-denial seems ex- 
cessive and unreasonable for the kingdom of heav- 
en's sake. They are lavish of expense for the 
gratification of luxury, pride and display ; but they 
counsel the utmost frugality and parsimony in re- 
lation to the claims of the Gospel and the suffer- 
ings of the poor. They admire self-sacrificing en- 
thusiasm, and fervor of spirit, in every concern but 
that of salvation. The merchant, the politician, 
the soldier, the adventurer, may be as eager, and 
earnest, and absorbed in their favorite pursuit as 
they will, but the candidate for immortality, the 
pursuer of heavenly and incorruptible treasures, 
must by no means be too ardent, or singular, or 
righteous over much. Men may deny themselves 
for every object except eternal life. They may 
forego ease, convenience, pleasure, home and 
friends for a corruptible crown, but not for an 
incorruptible. The moment eternity begins to 
absorb the soul, and temporal comforts and earthly 
joys are held cheap, in view of the favor of God 
and the kingdom of heaven, that moment comes 
in the remonstrance : " Spare thyself — this must 
not be unto thee/' " Spare thyself this undue 
anxiety ; avoid this self-denying duty ; attempt 
not this irksome task ; rid thyself of these cares 



76 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

and burdens; be not thus needlessly strict and 
scrupulous ; live as the rest of the world live ; be 
content with the average standard of goodness, 
and enjoy as thou canst the good things of this 
life, without so greatly troubling thyself about 
another." Whose suggestions are these ? Whose 
did Christ esteem them when addressed to Him? 
Though Peter himself were the speaker, yet mark 
the Saviour's reply. Oh! it is hard enough for 
weak mortals to enter in at the straight gate, and 
walk in the narrow way — to resist their own per- 
verse wills and sinful propensities ; without being 
opposed and hindered by this imagined tenderness, 
but real cruelty of earthly friends — this great 
anxiety for their present ease and comfort — this 
reckless indifference as to their eternal safety. 

But it is not merely from others, that hindran- 
ces are cast in the way of a faithful, zealous, con- 
sistent Christian life. He who inspires worldly 
friends with such misplaced tenderness, can instil 
the same feelings into our own hearts. The dis- 
suading voice, " Spare thyself — this shall not be 
unto thee," may come from within, as well as from 
without. Our Saviour proceeds immediately from 
the mention of his own cross, to instruct his dis- 
ciples in reference to theirs. After indignantly 
repelling the counsel of Peter, and declaring it to 
be of earth, and not of heaven, he went on to say 
to his disciples, " If any man will come after me, 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 77 

let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and 
follow me/ 5 And he enforces this self-denial with 
the most solemn considerations : " For whosoever 
will save his life, shall lose it ; and whosoever 
will lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For 
what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul ? Or what shall a man 
give in exchange for his soul ?" Such is the plain- 
ness wherewith Jesus shows his disciples the cross, 
and such are the motives wherewith he urges them 
to take it up. " You fancy," he says to them, 
" that you have nothing to do in my service buj: 
to inherit glory. You promise yourselves a jour- 
ney exempt from hardship, toil and suffering, and 
eternal life at the end. You cannot bear to hear 
me speak of my own cross. I tell you that there 
is a cross for each one of you. The disciple is not 
better than his Lord. And if you hope to reign 
with me, you must first suffer with me." Now we 
must, in faithfulness to our Lord, and to your souls, 
testify the same thing. It is not our business to 
clear every stone from your path, and blunt every 
thorn ; to show you how you can at once make 
provision for the flesh and the soul, and reconcile, 
at the same time, the service of God and Mam- 
mon. While we do maintain that godliness hath 
the promise of the life that now is, as well as of 
that which is to come ; and believe that the sin- 
cere, faithful, whole-hearted Christian is, in the 



78 -LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

end, an unspeakable gainer even here ; yet we must 
remind you that this is the portion only of the 
whole-hearted and decided. A lukewarm, irreso- 
lute, unstable religion is the source of little joy 
here, and of small hope hereafter. To shun the 
cross, is either to make it ten-fold heavier in the 
end, or to lose the crown. You cannot be faith- 
ful followers of Christ without trouble, self-denial 
and devotedness. There are within you evil tem- 
pers to be mortified, unholy dispositions to be re- 
pressed, besetting sins to be laid aside. There are 
without you snares to be avoided, temptations to 
be overcome, frowns to be faced, enticements to 
be spurned. You must, if you would serve God 
and follow Christ, in many things go counter to 
the love of ease, the voice of the world, the plead- 
ings of misguided friendship, the solicitations of 
appetite. To be a safe and happy Christian, you 
must be a diligent, pains-taking, earnest Christian. 
You cannot have the world, and the flesh, and the 
Saviour together. You must choose between them, 
and be resolute in your choice. No sooner are 
Christ's disciples brought to confess him as their 
Messiah and Lord, than he instructs them in the 
nature of his service, and warns them against that 
timid, temporizing, self-indulgent course, so con- 
genial to our corrupt hearts. This is their Lord's 
manner of educating them for holy lives, peaceful 
deaths, and crowns of righteousness. 



THE SEVERE REBUKE. 79 

Let not, then, this admonitory passage in the 
Apostle's life fail of a salutary effect upon you. 
who profess to be seeking the kingdom of heaven. 
Regard those as your truest friends, not who 
counsel you to spare yourself in God's service, and 
deprecate all religious fervor and earnestness, but 
those who point out to you most plainly your dan- 
gers and besetting sins, and urge you most anx- 
iously to patient continuance in well-doing. Guard 
against the self-pleasing suggestions of a deceitful 
heart. Expect not to be saved without pressing 
on vigorously in the Christian race, and striving 
manfully in the spiritual conflict. Enter into the 
exalted privileges of your high vocation ; contem- 
plate the glorious prize presented to your hope ; 
think of the amazing change effected by your Re- 
deemer's ungrudging love, in the condition, pros- 
pects and destiny of your undying soul, and you 
will " count all things but loss, for the excellency 
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus the Lord." For 
him you will be content " gladly to suffer the loss 
of all things, and count them but dross, that you 
may win Christ, and be found in him." And when 
tempted to murmur at your trials, and shrink from 
the burden of your cross, look at that cross which 
your Redeemer bore for you. Mark how willingly 
he suffered its unutterable agonies, for the sake of 
your salvation ; and how indignantly he repelled 
the solicitation to cast it away. And surely you 



80 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

also will be strengthened to bid the tempter depart, 
and take up with renewed energy the hallowed 
burden. Welcome, dear Lord, any way, however 
rough, so it lead to thee — any cross, however gall- 
ing, so we pass from it to thy kingdom. 



THE DEATH-CHAMBER, THE MOUNT, 
AND THE GARDEN. 



MARK V. 37. 



" And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, 
and John the brother of James." 

It was the high privilege of the twelve Apos- 
tles to be the constant attendants upon our Lord 
Jesus Christ. During the three years of his mi- 
nistry they were very rarely absent from his side. 
He admitted them into his closet and most familiar 
intimacy. He favored them with a near view of 
his daily life, and made them his companions as 
" he went about doing good/' that they might be 
enabled to testify, from fullest knowledge, what 
manner of man he was. His was a life so pure 
and spotless, so benevolent and disinterested, so 
devout and heavenly, that it must be presented to 
a redeemed world in just and exact delineation. 
And hence, those his chosen followers, to whom 
was to be entrusted the task of recording and tes- 
tifying to that life, were privileged with so close an 
intimacy. But while the twelve were all thus sur- 
passingly favored, they were not all alike favored. 
The same good pleasure which chose them out of 
a world of sinful men to be his Apostles and Evan- 



82 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

gelists, selected certain of them to be witnesses of 
some scenes, so peculiarly sacred, that even their 
brethren were not admitted to be present. To three 
of the twelve the Lord saw fit to extend this dis- 
tinguishing grace. These were James and John, 
the sons of Zebedee, and the Apostle whose life- 
is the subject of our present consideration. It is 
probably not for us to know all the reasons that 
determined our Saviour in this selection, from the 
twelve, of confidential and bosom friends, to be 
with him in those peculiarly solemn seasons. It 
was no injustice or disparagement to their breth- 
ren to be excluded while they were admitted. 
These were occasions of such mysterious and hal- 
lowed tenderness, that the presence of any large 
number of bystanders would have been burden- 
some and intrusive. "In the mouth of two or 
three witnesses shall every word be established/' 
So many were required to prove to the satisfac- 
tion of the enquiring the reality of these marvel- 
lous events. Of the selected individuals, two, we 
know to have been distinguished from their breth- 
ren by the peculiar fervor of their attachment to 
their Master. Not exempt from infirmities and 
failings, they yet loved their Lord with a warmer 
and more lively affection — and it may very pro- 
bably have been in response to this affection that 
their Lord bestowed upon them such special 
marks of favor. 



THE DEATH-CHAMBER. 83 

I. The first of these remarkable occasions was 
the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead. 
Christ takes the favored three with him into the 
chamber of death. He hath been met on his jour- 
neyings by the agonized father, clinging to the last 
hope of preservation for his dying child. It was the 
urgent anxiety of parental love that brought him 
a suppliant to Jesus. " He fell down at Jesus' 
feet, and besought him that he would come into his 
house : for he had one only daughter, about twelve 
years of age, and she lay a-dying." He, who can 
be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, com- 
plies immediately with the earnest application. 
But on their way the sad announcement meets 
them, that succor is too late. " There cometh 
one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying 
to him, Thy daughter is dead : trouble not the 
Master." But how full of confidence and conso- 
lation that Master's reply! "But when Jesus 
heard it,he answered him, savins:, Fear not : believe 
only, and she shall be made whole." He enters 
the dwelling, now vocal with the sounds of grief. 
The natural expressions of sorrow burst from the 
survivors, and the melancholy notes of the mu- 
sicians, who according to the usage of the age and 
country attended on such occasions, mingle with 
lamentations and wailings. With gentle authority, 
the Lord dismisses and silences the crowd. He 
suffers none to be present at the performance of 



84 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

his intended miracle but the three disciples and 
the bereaved parents. There is now a solemn 
stillness in the death chamber. How much more 
congenial with such a scene than the noisy de- 
monstrations of grief which had preceded ! The 
father and mother of the deceased, divided be- 
tween grief and hope, watch with intense interest 
the proceedings. There lies the pallid corpse of 
one who had been the joy and delight of their 
dwelling. Those eyes, which had been wont to 
meet theirs in confiding love, are closed. Those 
lips, whose accents of affection had been music 
to their ears, are sealed. Over those features, so 
oft lit up with youthful cheerfulness, hath settled 
the fixed composedness of death. Clad in the ha- 
biliments of the grave and ready for the narrow 
house, is the form so endeared and lovely in their 
eyes. Oh death ! in thyself thou art a pitiless, 
heart-crushing visitor. The fairest blossoms of 
earth wither at thine icy touch. What can re- 
concile frail mortals to thine agonizing triumphs ; 
to thy partings and desolations ; to the lonely blank 
thou leavest in once joyous and happy homes, to 
the void thou makest in fond, affectionate hearts ? 
Is there aught potent enough to soothe the anguish 
which thou causest, and inspire the desolate mour- 
ner with cheerful resignation ? Yes ! The pre- 
sence of Christ can do it. If he come into the 
house of mourning, it is no longer night there. He 



THE DEATH-CHAMBER. 85 

brings with him gracious promises and heavenly 
comfort. He enters the lonely and sorrowful 
dwelling, to hush the loud lamentation and still 
the rebellious murmur. He comes, if not wholly 
to remove, yet greatly to assuage the bitterness of 
grief. If he bid not the bereaved entirely to re- 
frain from sorrow, yet he bids them to " sorrow 
not as others who have no hope." He speaks com- 
forting words of a future resurrection ; of a hea- 
venly home ; of a blessed reunion, beyond this vale 
of tears, of them that have died in the Lord. "The 
maid is not dead, but sleepeth." And though no 
such instant exertion of his omnipotence be now 
promised, as that which gave back to these weep- 
ing parents their fondly loved child, yet faith can 
wait for the appointed time of restitution of trea- 
sures taken away, and calmly, hopefully, resign- 
edly, repose on his sure word and sufficient grace. 
The Lord approaches the lifeless body. He 
takes the cold, motionless hand in his. Two short 
words fall from his lips : " Talitha cumi — Dam- 
sel, arise." And immediately that stiffened form 
moves again Those eyes, that had seemed to take 
their last look of earth, re-open. New life ani- 
mates the countenance — new strength invigorates 
the limbs. In the words of St. Luke, " Her spirit 
came again, and she arose straightway." That 
mysterious principle, the living soul, which dies 
not when the body dies, which sojourns as a guest 
5* 



86 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, 

in the tabernacle of clay, but perishes not in its 
rum, returns to its former habitation ; and the 
earthly tabernacle, instead of hastening back to 
dust, becomes again sensitive and quickened. 
Wherever that spirit has been borne, it was with- 
in the reach of Christ's power, and subject to the 
control of his word. And to such a power, what 
is impossible ! How easy the resurrection of all 
that sleep in the dust to one whose word is thus 
resistless ! He who spake beside that death-bed 
the two reviving words, was, indeed, the Resur- 
rection and the Life. His voice shall sound in 
the ear of every sleeper with as much potency as 
in that of the Jewish damsel. All that have ever 
died, shall confess its might, and obey its sum- 
mons. Could these privileged disciples, after wit- 
nessing this scene, doubt or question their Lord's 
power ? How strong might well be their faith in 
him, at whose command death relinquished his 
prey, the spirit returned back to earth, and the 
corpse was in a moment reanimated ? And while 
the three Apostles were astonished at his unearthly 
power, must they not also have been filled with 
admiration of his tender compassion for mortal 
sorrow, as he left the dwelling, at his coming, so 
desolate and dark, full of joy, gratitude and praise ? 
II. On this occasion, the three disciples saw 
their Master exerting a superhuman power, while 
himself clothed in the garb of humiliation. His 



THE MOUNT. 87 

word was mighty, but his countenance was that 
of a meek and lowly man, and nought in his ap- 
pearance distinguished him from other men. 

The next privilege of this kind exhibited him 
to their eyes in a majesty before unknown. " He 
took Peter, John and James, and went up into a 
mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion 
of his countenance was altered, and his raiment 
was white and glistering. And behold, there 
talked with him two men, which were Moses and 
Elias, who appeared in glory ; and spake of his 
decease which he should accomplish at Jerusa- 
lem."* It would seem that on this, as at several 
other times, the Saviour passed the whole night 
upon the mountain-top in prayer. The disci- 
ples, not sharing in the fervor of their Lord's 
devotion, yielded to the infirmity of nature. 
" Peter and they that were with him were heavy 
with sleep." From this slumber they are wakened by 
a dazzling splendor. More intense than the bright 
beams of the rising sun, shone the radiance that 
now lighted up, at the midnight hour, the summit 
of Mount Tabor. " When they were awake, they 
saw his glory, and the two men that stood with 
him." Their beloved Master was no more the 
humble Nazarene. "His countenance did shine 
as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. "f 

| * Lukeix. 28-31. f Matt, xvii 2. 



88 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

A change most astonishing hath come over him. 
He who had walked with them in the simple attire 
of poverty, is now clothed with light as with a 
garment. The splendor of his own glorified form 
shines through his raiment, rendering it " exceed- 
ing white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can 
white them."* A radiance not of earth encircles 
him, and a light above that of the meridian sun, 
beams from his countenance. Two shining ones 
are his companions. The amazed disciples, re- 
covering from their first astonishment, discover 
these mysterious visitants, from their conversa- 
tion, to be Moses and Elijah. Both exhibit their 
reverence for the glorified Jesus. Thus the law 
and the prophets bear witness to him. He who 
brought the law of God from Sinai's quaking sum- 
mit, and he who vindicated that law amid a gene- 
ration wholly given to idolatry, now pay homage 
to Him, the great end and object of their prophetic 
and typical ministrations. And a still mightier 
testimony is given : " A bright cloud, ;; the symbol 
of the divine presence, the same which had been 
wont to dwell in the holy place of the tabernacle, 
overshadowed the awe-struck disciples. " And a 
voice came out of the cloud saying. This is my 
beloved Son, hear him." Thus was Jesus mani- 
fested in his glory — shown in his unapproachable 

* Mark is. 3. 



THE MOUNT. 89 

superiority to the chiefest of God's ancient ser- 
vants ; exhibited as the great object of attention 
and reverence to those whom Israel counted as 
the most honored of their prophets ; confessed, by 
the Almighty voice, as the Son of the living God, 
to whom all must now hearken and obey. The 
three disciples witness somewhat of the inherent 
majesty of that Master, who was wont to treat 
them with such condescending kindness. They 
see how deep his humiliation in assuming the 
likeness of sinful man ; to how vast an eclipse 
his glory is subjected, in his ordinary appear- 
ance among mortals. They have a foretaste of his 
future manifestation. They can now better un- 
derstand what he means when he speaks of "the 
Son of man coming in his glory/' There is 
presented an impressive image of that his great 
appearing to judge the quick and the dead. For 
on the one side is Elijah, who never tasted 
death, but was borne heavenward in his car of 
fire, the type of those of whom the Apostle speaks : 
"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed ; 
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the 
last trump." And, on the other side, is Moses, 
who submitted to the common doom of man, the 
type of the risen dead. 

The dazzling splendors of the scene appear 
to have thrown the Apostle Peter into a sort of 
ecstacy. Ravished with the glorious vision he 



90 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

would enjoy it without interruption. He would 
detain for ever on this mountain summit his Mas- 
ter, in this celestial guise, and these his mysterious 
visitants. " And Peter answered and said to 
Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here : and let 
us make three tabernacles ; one for thee, and one 
for Moses, and one for Elias." "Not knowing 
what he said," adds St. Luke — as if the suggestion 
required excuse, and was to be imputed not to re- 
flection and reason, but to trepidation and haste. 
It was indeed the impulse of inconsiderate rap- 
ture. It showed forgetfulness of the rebuke 
which he had just before received from his Mas- 
ter, for striving to dissuade him from the painful 
cross. And even the converse of Moses and 
Elias with his Lord, respecting the decease to be 
accomplished at Jerusalem, had failed to bring 
back to his mind the necessity of this solemn 
event. He had not yet become reconciled to the 
great mystery of a suffering Christ. And now, 
perceiving the real majesty of his Lord, he would 
not have him again lay aside his garments of glory. 
No ! let him, as Messiah and Prince, hold his 
court upon Tabor, invested with dazzling splen- 
dors that would compel the world to admit his 
Lordship and pay him homage. Or let them con- 
tinue in that ecstacy of delight, into which the 
contemplation of a scene so heavenly had thrown 
them, forgetting the world with all its grovelling 



THE MOUNT. 9j 

pleasures, and fruitless cares, its misery, sorrow, 
and corruption. " And what then, Peter, shall be- 
come of that wretched world, and its lost inhabi- 
tants ? Shall the curse wherewith it was smitten 
continue heavy upon it ? Shall unhappy mortals 
go down to the tomb without a friend, a helper, a 
Saviour ? Shall sin rage and riot in unchecked 
triumph, and death reign without remedy ?" Here 
too we find the suggestion of the Apostle savor- 
ing not of the things that be of God, but of the 
things of men. His Lord's purpose was far dif- 
ferent. He came to earth not to shine resplen- 
dent and admired before the eyes of men, but to 
work out a great redemption by humiliation and 
suffering. Even on the Mount, he is talking with 
Moses and Elijah of the decease to be accom- 
plished at Jerusalem. Speedily is this bright vision 
to fade — the heavenly radiance to vanish, the un- 
earthly visitants to depart, and the Saviour and 
his disciples to descend to the world — the unquiet, 
unhappy, sinful, hostile world below. Peter must 
learn that the life of a true Christian is not one 
of mere rapture and transport, of dreamy con- 
templation and uninterrupted ecstacy. He must 
learn that the disciple of Christ is left in the 
world, amid its every -day trials, its temptations, 
its disappointments, its chilling realities, its beset- 
ments and enmities, that he may follow in his 
Lord's footsteps, exhibit his Lord's spirit, and do 



92 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

somewhat in his Lord's strength to make that 
world purer, better, and happier. But to nerve 
the Christian for the difficulties of his warfare, to 
inspire him with strength, energy, and courage, 
what so conducive as to have been with Jesus on 
the Mount ; to have caught some glimpses of his 
glory ; to have been lifted up with thoughts and 
impressions of his celestial loveliness, and his 
saving grace ; to realize how unspeakably exalted, 
how ineffably glorious, how admired and adored 
by all the company of Heaven, is that Redeemer 
whose name is written on our foreheads, and with 
whom we are united in bonds stronger than death ? 
No wonder that the scene on Tabor left so deep 
and abiding an impression on the Apostle's mind 
that we find him long afterwards, and nearly 
at the close of his earthly sojourn, recalling it to 
his own mind, and to his brethren, as a most 
strong and undeniable confirmation of their faith 
in that Saviour's divine character and future Ad- 
vent, " For we have not followed, cunningly 
devised fables, w T hen we made known unto you 
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
but were eye witnesses of his majesty. For he 
received from God the Father honor and glory, 
when there came such a voice to him from the 
excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased. And this voice which came 



THE GARDEN. 93 

from heaven, we heard, when we were with him 
in the holy Mount. "* 

III. The chosen three were their Lord's com- 
panions on yet another, and still more solemn oc- 
casion. And the spectacle of his divine majesty 
might have been intended to prepare them for the 
heart-affecting and distressing scene in the garden 
of Gethsemane. The same who were eye wit- 
nesses of his glory, were selected to be with him 
in his agony. " And he taketh with him Peter, 
and James, and John, and began to be sore amazed 
and very heavy ; and saith unto them, my soul is 
exceeding sorrowful unto death : tarry ye here, 
and watch. And he went forward a little, and 
fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were pos- 
sible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, 
Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee ; 
take away this cup from me ; nevertheless, not 
what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, 
and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, 
Simon, sleepest thou, couldest not thou watch 
one hour ? And again he went away and prayed, 
saying the same words. f And being in an agony, 
he prayed more earnestly : and his sweat was as 
it were great drops of blood failing down to the 
ground." J This was the scene of more than mor- 

* 2 Peter i. 16, 18. f Mark xiv. 33, 39. ; 

\ Luke xxii. 44. 



94 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tal anguish at which the three disciples were per- 
mitted to be present. And yet how do we find 
them occupied ? Charged to watch and pray ; 
their beloved Master struggling under the moun- 
tain burden of a world's iniquities, pleading with 
his Father in tones and words that might have 
moved to responsive pity the cold earth itself, 
crimsoned with the big drops wrung from him by 
his anguish ; and these his familiar friends, instead 
of aiding him with fervent prayers and whisper- 
ing to him words of consolation, buried in slum- 
ber ; sleeping, while Christ is agonizing ; reckless 
of him, while he is groaning, and bleeding, and 
wrestling for their salvation. " Oh, Peter ! couldst 
thou not w T atch one hour ? Thou, who hadst just 
boasted of thy readiness to die with Christ ? Art 
thou so soon asleep ?" Their compassionate Lord 
indeed was ready to extenuate their conduct : 
" The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is 
weak :" if we take these words as an excuse, 
rather than an admonitory warning. But when 
they aftenvards recalled the touching scene, their 
Master's strong crying and tears, his earnest plead- 
ings, his unearthly sorrows, his love for them un- 
abated by intensest sufferings, could they excuse 
themselves ? Could they not have watched, one 
hour, with such a Master, at such a time ? 

But before we reproach them, brethren, let us 
inquire how is it with ourselves ? Are we not also 



THE GARDEN. 95 

charged to watch and pray ? Ought we not also 
to have fellowship with the sufferings of Christ ? 
Ought we not to be looking constantly with reve- 
rence, faith, and love to Him, "who his own self 
bare our sins in his own body on the tree." And 
is not the appointed vigil brief? Can we not watch 
with Christ one hour ? Shall our Lord bear the 
whole bitterness of death for us, and shall we su- 
pinely slumber, and dream away that life which 
ought to be devoted to his service, in worldliness, 
irreligion, folly, and sloth. Oh, let the blinded 
lovers of pleasure and gain, the indolent, self- pleas- 
ing, unprofitable professors of Christ's name take 
heed, lest their Lord coming suddenly find them 
sleeping. If they will slumber, when a suffering, 
bleeding Saviour calls them to watch, greatly is it 
to be feared that, when, at the midnight hour, the 
cry is raised, " Behold the Bridegroom cometh, go 
ye out to meet him :" — they will be found un- 
ready ; and ere their preparation be made, the door 
of the kingdom will be shut. 

We find, then, in reviewing these incidents, that 
the chosen Disciples were permitted to witness 
Christ in three most solemn and interesting mo- 
ments — to witness him, ministering to the relief 
of mortal sorrow ; to witness him, transfigured and 
resplendent with celestial dignity ; to witness him, 
bearing the world's guilt, and wrestling for our 
redemption. They were permitted to behold Him 



96 LITE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

as the sympathizing High Priest, in the house of 
Jairus : as the King of Glory, upon the Mount : as 
the Lamb of God, the atoning Saviour, at Geth- 
semane. From the one scene, they would learn 
the willingness and the power of Jesus to comfort 
them that mourn ; from the second, his inherent 
majesty and future sublime manifestation ; from 
the last, his unutterable love for lost man, and the 
cost at which the world was redeemed. And thus 
they would go forth as his heralds, to proclaim this 
Saviour in his different offices — his saving grace, 
as Redeemer ; his sympathy with our griefs and 
sorrows, as Friend and Brother ; his divine ma- 
jesty and glory, as King of kings, and Lord of 
lords. They leave the Chamber of Death pre- 
pared to announce their Redeemer as the Resur- 
rection and the Life, the hearer of prayer, the 
comforter in affliction, the alleviator of misery. 
They descend from the Mount to testify to the 
world his exceeding greatness — to announce Him 
as soon to appear again, coming with clouds, sur- 
rounded by angelic hosts, clothed with unearthly 
majesty — the appointed Judge of quick and dead. 
They go from the Garden to bear witness that the 
fountain hath been opened for sin and for unclean- 
ness ; to proclaim the faithful saying that Christ 
Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; to 
point the trembling penitent to Gethsemane and 
Calvary ; to publish pardon, peace and salvation. 



THE GARDEN. 97 

Neither are we debarred from like access to 
our Redeemer. We walk, indeed, by faith, not by 
sight. We see not yet face to face ; but we can 
realize the presence and power of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, though to the bodily eye invisible. It is 
sometimes our privilege to be with Jesus in the 
house of mourning — to witness his blessed pre- 
sence lighting up the death-chamber with unearth- 
ly radiance. We see the smile on the counte- 
nance of the dying ; we hear the utterance of hope 
from the pallid lip. The terrors of the grave are 
dispelled, and death is swallowed up of victory. 
The bereaved bless and praise God, even in their 
tribulation. They weep, but not in the bitterness 
of hopeless grief. They are distressed, but not in 
despair; afflicted, but not forsaken ; for Jesus is 
there. We go, burdened with guilt, to Gethsem- 
ane. We gaze upon the prostrate and stricken 
form of our great surety, wounded for our sins and 
bruised for our iniquities ; and we apply that bit- 
ter passion to our guilt-stained souls, and look up 
to God as our reconciled Father, and receive the 
freely extended, the blood-bought pardon. 

And the hour cometh when we shall behold 
Jesus in his glory, clothed in majesty divine, re- 
vealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in 
flaming fire. And that we may then hail his ad- 
vent with joy, we must now seek him in faith. 
How vast a promise is that recorded by one of the 



98 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

very apostles who was with Jesus on the Mount! 
" Beloved, now are we the sons of God ; and it 
doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we 
know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like 
him : for we shall see him as he is." 



THE LAST SUPPER. 



JOHN XIII. 8, 9. 
e * Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus 
answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. Si- 
mon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my 
hands and my head." 

The scene at the last supper, when Jesus, just 
before his offering of himself as a sacrifice for sin, 
ate the Passover, with the twelve, and instituted 
that holy rite wherein his death should be com- 
memorated until his coming again, can scarce be 
contemplated by the Christian without benefit. 
There is a sorrowful mystery attending our Lord's 
conduct, and breathing in his words ; a degree of 
interest and affection manifested towards his dis- 
ciples ; a solemnity, pathos and sublimity in his 
discourses, that must deeply impress the reflect- 
ing reader. The spirit of divine tenderness, the 
temper of heaven, shine with unusual lustre, and 
make the upper room, in which the Lord and his 
disciples are gathered, a holy place. 

We are now drawn to the consideration of this 
affecting occasion, in its bearing upon the life of 
the Apostle Peter, the part which he took therein, 
and his Lord's deportment towards him. It is not 



100 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

one of the least instructive scenes in the eventful 
and edifying history of this great Apostle. 

In making the arrangements for the celebra- 
tion of the Passover, our Saviour was pleased to 
exhibit his wondrous Omniscience in such a man- 
ner as must greatly have astonished his disciples ; 
and with reference, perhaps, to the coming dan- 
ger of Peter, he selected him as one who should 
witness this evidence of his Master's unbounded 
knowledge. He would thus be armed with a fresh 
proof of that Master's unearthly greatness; and 
though this very favor might enhance the guilt of 
his fall, it would yet conduce to his more speedy 
recovery. " Then came the day of unleavened 
bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he 
sent Peter and John, saying, Go and prepare us 
the Passover, that we may eat. And they said 
unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare ? And 
he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered 
into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing 
a pitcher of water; follow him into the house 
where he entereth in. And ye shall say unto the 
good man of the house, The Master saith unto 
thee, Where is the guest-chamber, where I shall 
eat the Passover with my disciples ? And he shall 
show you a large upper room furnished : there 
make ready."* Now, however simple the tenor of 

* Luke xxii. T-12. 



THE LAST SUPPER. 



101 



this narrative, it is evident that such a direction 
implies an unlimited knowledge on the part of the 
speaker. For what could seem more entirely ac- 
cidental and fortuitous than that the disciples 
should encounter this man bearing the pitcher of 
water, soon after their entrance into the city ; and 
that following him, they should be led into the 
very house where they could obtain the desired 
room for the paschal feast ? Such an instance of 
foreknowledge of an incident seemingly so trivial 
and casual, is adapted to overthrow our common 
impressions of chance and accident, and to exhibit 
the unlimited extent of our Redeemer's vision. 
Had the token failed, had no such individual pre- 
sented himself in the street, or no such hospitable 
owner inhabited the house into which the man 
entered, there would have been such an ominous 
failure in our Lord's prophetic powers, that, in 
connection with the events of the night, and the 
tragedy of the morrow, it might have altogether 
blighted the faith of his disciples. Whereas, now 
they w r ould have an additional evidence of his di- 
vine mission— a fresh proof to recur to in the hour 
of doubt and dismay — and might well reason, that, 
to one who could thus foresee the most seemingly 
accidental and minute occurrences, nothing could 
happen without his own determinate counsel and 
foreknowledge, nor without leading to great and 
glorious results. And we may learn from it that 
6 



102 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

we are never hidden from that pierciDg eye, and 
that there is nothing really unimportant or trifling 
in our lives, inasmuch as eternal destinies are be- 
fore us. 

After they were gathered at the paschal feast, 
it pleased the Saviour to exhibit, in a remarkable 
manner, the wondrous abasement to which he had 
submitted, in order to redeem the world, as well 
as to give his people a striking example of that 
spirit of humility which he was so oft inculcating 
upon them. This passage in his history is related 
by St. John in the following words : — "Now be- 
fore the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew 
that his hour was come that he should depart out 
of this world unto the Father, having loved his 
own which were in the world, he loved them unto 
the end. And supper being ended, (the Devil 
having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, 
Simon's son, to betray him,) Jesus knowing that 
the Father had given all things into his hands, and 
that he w r as come from God, and went to God ; he 
riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments ; 
and took a towel and girded himself. After that, 
he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash 
the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel 
wherewith he was girded." Observe in this nar- 
rative, first, the characteristic of our Lord's affec- 
tion for his people. " Having loved his own which 
were in the world, he loved them unto the end/' 



THE LAST SUPPER, 103 

The love of Jesus Christ is a persevering love. It 
is no capricious, uncertain, fitful regard. It 
dates back from before the foundation of the 
world. It looks onward through eternity. It is 
proof against the frequent interruptions to which 
earthly affection is liable. It "is not easily pro- 
voked, endureth all things, hopeth ail things." 
With how much of waywardness and fickleness, 
of ingratitude and unkindness does it bear ? And 
though so often thanklessly repelled and slighted, 
how ready is it to welcome again the returning 
penitent ? Oh, if Christ's love for us were less en- 
during, less persevering, surely we had exhausted 
it long ago, and been utterly cast away ! But it 
bears with our provocations beyond all limits of 
mortal endurance : and those calamities and re- 
verses which estrange worldly friends, only make 
our Redeemer's love more manifest and comfort- 
ing. The love of Christ is never turned away 
from those upon whom the world may look coldly 
and contemptuously. It flows forth more largely 
and freely to the poor, the afflicted, the bereaved, 
the sick and the dying. Make him your friend, 
and he will prove a fast and firm friend, cleaving 
closer than a brother, following you with his loving 
kindness through all the changes of this mortal 
life, standing by you though all others forsake 
you, supplying the want of those objects of af- 
fection whom his Providence removes, watching 



104 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

over you in sickness and weakness, filling your 
heart with joy and peace in the time of sorrow, 
soothing the death-bed, and ready to receive your 
departing spirit, and take it to his own mansions 
of blessedness. " For having loved his own that 
were in the world, he loves them unto the end." 

Of this fervent and disinterested affection he 
now proceeded to give his Apostles an unexpected 
proof. "And supper being ended," or rather, (as it 
should be translated,) being prepared, "Jesus, know- 
ing that the Father had given all things into his 
hands, and that he was come from God, and went 
to God ; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his 
garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 
After that, he poureth water into a basin, and be- 
gan to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them 
with the towel wherewith he was girded." The 
Evangelist is careful to join with this act of con- 
descension, an assertion of the amazing dignity of 
Him by whom it was exhibited. Jesus performed 
it, fully conscious of the height of his coming ex- 
altation. He did not lose sight of his inherent 
Deity, or of his mediatorial kingdom. It was an 
act of voluntary humiliation on the part of Him 
who well understood that unto himself "every 
knee should bow." This act of our Saviour was, 
first, an impressive illustration of his exceeding 
self-abasement. " Being in the form of God, and 
counting it not robbery to be equal with God, he 



THE LAST SUPPER. 105 

yet made himself of no reputation, and took upon 
him the form of a servant/' Seeing him whom 
angels worship, and who lights up heaven with his 
glory, clad in such a garb, and performing so 
humble an office, we must be struck with his ex- 
ceeding lowliness, and wonder at the extent of 
his voluntary impoverishment. 

The act w 7 as, in the second place, designed to 
rebuke that most common and predominant, but 
really most pitiful and contemptible passion, hu- 
man pride. It shows us that nothing is, in truth, 
so excellent as real humility — a spirit of unaffected 
condescension — a disposition to stoop to the infir- 
mities and necessities of the weak and suffering. 
"Know ye/"' saith he, "what I have done to you? 
Ye call me Master, and Lord ; and ye say well ; 
for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and Master, 
have washed your feet, ye ought also to w r ash one 
another's feet. For I have given you an example, 
that you should do as I have done to you/' It can 
be readily shown that our Lord here is enjoining 
not the after repetition of the very act which he 
performed, bu: ation of that spirit of 

humbleness and afl was thus mani- 

fested. The subsequent conduct of his apostles 
shows what was their understanding, and they 
certainly would be guided to understand him 
rightly. We nowhere find that such a practice 
as washing one another's feet prevailed, as a re- 



106 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

ligious rite, in the apostolic Church. When 
Christ instituted his sacraments, "outward and visi- 
ble signs of inward and spiritual grace/' the apos- 
tles, without hesitation, followed his example and 
injunction. We read constantly of their admin- 
istering baptism and the Lord's supper to their 
converts. They never presumed, for a moment, 
to question their Lord's authority to appoint such 
external ordinances, and to annex to them such 
spiritual promises as he might see fit. And their 
conduct, in that respect, shows us plainly, that, if 
the Saviour had designed a religious rite, of the 
nature of this act at the last supper, to continue 
in his Church, they would have fully complied with 
it, and left us a record of such compliance. From 
this language of the Saviour, therefore, no evi- 
dence can be drawn that a new ordinance of this 
nature was intended by him, nor can any good 
argument be derived against the permanent obli- 
gation of those holy sacraments which the Saviour 
instituted so explicitly, and which the inspired 
apostles practised so scrupulously and leverently. 
But what our Lord evidently did intend, was to 
show his disciples how it became them to put on 
lowliness and humbleness of mind, in honor pre- 
ferring one another, and each esteeming other 
better than himself. And it was specially de- 
signed as a rebuke of that unseemly contention for 
pre-eminence which had again manifested itself 



THE LAST SUPPER. X07 

among them; for, at this very time, the strife had 
just been renewed which of them should be great- 
est.* If aught could have made them blush for 
such an exposure of pitiful ambition, at a time of 
such deep solemnity, it would have been this spec- 
tacle of their revered Master, performing to them 
one of the humblest possible offices. And, in 
truth, the lesson seems to have been effectual, for we 
hear no more of this unholy strife for superiority. 
This lesson, beloved, of true humility, of con- 
descending interest in the wants and miseries 
of our brother man, of self-abasement and self- 
renunciation for the sake of Christ and his people, 
is one of the hardest for us to learn. Our proud 
hearts rebel against it. There may be an occa- 
sional parade of voluntary humility, as when he 
who is styled sovereign Pontiff Vicar of Christ, 
nay, our Lord God the Pope, ostentatiously 
washes, once a year, in a golden basin, the feet of 
beggars. But this is a very different thing from 
the spirit which Jesus inculcated at the last sup- 
per. That was a spirit of unaffected condescen- 
sion, a ready sympathy with our less favored fel- 
low men, a disposition to look upon the most ob- 
scure and degraded as our brethren, and to ex- 



* The reasons for placing the contention mentioned in Luke 
xxii. 24, &e., before this act of the Saviour, are given by Doddridge 
and Bioomfield. 



108 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tend to them that kindly interest which is more 
precious than the relief of physical suffering. And 
here do we not all greatly need to attend to our 
blessed Master's instruction and example ? " Let 
this mind be in you,whi&h was also in Christ Jesus.'' 
The apostle Peter cannot, at first, bring him- 
self to submit to such a condescension from his 
Saviour. " Lord, dost thou wash my feet ?" he 
asked with surprise, and even displeasure. " Je- 
sus answered and said unto him, What I do thou 
knowest not now, but thou shall know hereafter/' 
How true this, brethren, of much that Jesus now 
does ? And how needful and reasonable that we 
should, patiently and trustingly, await the explana- 
tion and development of all his dealings ? Let us 
be faithful to the end, and we shall soon know the 
reasons of what he hath done, and with each fresh 
discovery we shall kindle with more fervent love, 
and break forth into louder praise. " Peter saith 
unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus 
answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no 
part with me. Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, 
not my feet only, but also my hands and my head/' 
The Lord's assurance to Peter, that if unwashed, 
he hath no part in him, overcomes, in a moment, 
his opposition. The apostle, from his first ac- 
quaintance with the Lord Jesus, had deeply felt 
his own sinfulness. And this conviction of per- 
sonal unworthiness had doubtless much to do with 



THE LAST SUPPER. 109 

his strong attachment to that Redeemer who giv- 
eth rest to the heavy-laden. When the Saviour, 
therefore, insists upon the necessity of his clean- 
sing to all who would have any part with him. the 
disciple's ready heart at* once applies the saying 
to his spiritual defilements, " Dear Lord, I do in- 
deed need to be cleansed and purified, I feel most 
deeply that I am an unworthy, guilt-stained sin- 
ner. Nought do I desire more than to be made 
pure and holy. But. Lord, the cleansing should 
be an entire and thorough one. Not my feet only, 
but also my hands and my head. Am I not alto- 
gether sinful and unclean ? Oh ! wash me thorough- 
ly from my wickedness, and cleanse me from my 
sin/' esus saith to him, he that is washed/ 5 

(or rather, who hath just come from the bath.) 
"needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean 

ry whit ; and :- clean, but not all." The 

distinction v ur Lord here makes is supposed 

to be that between the entire change, the spiritual 

v creation of the sinner, first repenting and 

passing from death unto life; and the daily re- 

sne ;s which the justified need, — 

on "s and omis- 

fi :: has been living 

- 3rld w his own lusts 
. ; ;-. rec uires 

borough transformation. He i; must be born 

ain." E i be quickened from death in 



110 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

trespasses and sins. He needs a repentance deep, 
thorough, and extending back through his life- 
time. He requires to be cleansed by the Spirit 
and blood of Christ, as it were, in a bath. He 
must be " saved by the washing of regeneration, 
and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. " But the 
reconciled and pardoned child of God, while he 
has need to confess himself a daily transgressor, to 
bewail his frequent failures, his many omissions, 
his inexcusable defects, and can only be cleansed 
by the same precious blood applied, in renewed 
exercises of penitence and faith; yet is it in his 
case rather the removal of such partial stains as 
he has contracted in his walk through this sinful 
world. In the one case, old things must pass 
away, all things must become new. In the other, 
there must be a reviving of what hath been de- 
cayed — a washing away of newly contracted de- 
filements—a return from our deviations to the 
right way. Now the apostles of Christ, with one 
awful exception, had experienced the great spirit- 
ual change, and had been transformed by the re- 
newing of their minds. " Ye are clean/' said their 
Lord, "but not all/' They needed not a new 
creation, for they were already new creatures in 
Christ Jesus. They were accepted by God through 
his beloved Son, and counted as clean, through 
their Redeemer's righteousness. But they needed, 
from day to day, fresh grace and new forgiveness. 



THE LAST SUPPER. HI 

They could not walk through the world without 
some of its pollutions adhering to their feet. And 
Christ, therefore, must wash them again and again. 
Let us all remember those emphatic words of 
our Saviour : " If I wash thee not, thou hast no part 
in me." While we rejoice that we have a Saviour, 
that as at this time # the Son of God came to our 
world to redeem us, let there mingle with our grat- 
ulations and thanksgivings the memory of this 
saying of our Lord. All his gifts and blessings to 
us are suspended on this condition. We must be 
washed by Christ. We must be cleansed from the 
guilt and defilement of sin by his most precious 
blood, and by his freely promised Spirit. Sin is 
our curse, our malady, our misery, our condem- 
nation. And the only remedy for our guilt-stain- 
ed souls, is to bathe in that fountain which Christ 
hath opened for sin and for uncleanness. We 
must be washed by Jesus, and justified, and sanc- 
tified ; for there shall in no wise enter into that 
holy city, the new Jerusalem, anything that defi- 
leth. And the washing which ye need, brethren, 
who have never experienced the. transforming 
grace of the Holy Spirit of God, is an entire and 
thorough one. Ye need new hearts, holy dispo- 
sitions, spiritual affections, humble penitence, 
lively faith, and entire self-consecration to him 

* Season of Nativity. 



112 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

who bought you with his blood. And without 
this, Christ shall profit you nothing. On our Sa- 
vior's return to the table, after this incident, he 
made known plainly to his disciples, that which he 
had before hinted at, the treachery of one of their 
number. " He was troubled in spirit, and testified, 
and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of 
you shall betray me." Most startling to them was 
this strange announcement. With sorrowful as- 
tonishment they gaze at one another, " doubting of 
whom he spake." The false-hearted one, who 
knew himself to be meant, had art enough to dis- 
semble his emotions. The innocent feel them- 
selves incapable of such an act. Yet their confi- 
dence in their brethren is no less firm than in their 
own integrity ; and, troubled beyond measure, 
they ask their Master in turn, " Lord, is it I ?" 
There is the utterance of truth and sincerity in 
the appeal. Judas could not speak so until, fear- 
dng that he might be noticed as an exception, he 
also thus addressed his Lord, and received a reply 
that indicated his Master's perfect acquaintance 
with his treachery. But the unsuspicious disci- 
ples are exceedingly slow to apprehend the Sa- 
vior's meaning, each feeling it as impossible that 
his brother could be guilty of such an act as him- 
self. " Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, 
one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. Simon 
Peter therefore, beckoned to him, that he should 



THE LAST SUPPER. 113 

ask who it should be of whom he spake." Peter 
appears more anxious than his fellow Apostles to 
discover the meaning of this sad announcement. 
His affectionate heart is even more shocked at 
such an imputation, and he cannot rest until the 
hypocrite and traitor be exposed, and the rest re- 

sd from any share in so foul a charge. The 
same warm attachment that prompted him to seek 
this explanation, which our Lord seems to have 
granted by pointing out Judas still more plainly, 
broke forth immediately after, when his Lord had 
spoken of his speedy departure from them. " Si- 
mon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest 
thou ? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou 
canst not follow me now : but thou shalt follow me 
afterwards. Peter saith unto him, Lord, Why can- 
not I follow thee now ? I will lay down my life 
for thy sake." " I am ready to go with thee, both 
into prison, and to death.*' Nought seems now 
impossible to his ardent affection. Absorbed with 
affectionate reverence for his Divine Master, he 
is ready to face every danger, to defy every foe. 
Sooner than be parted from the Lord Jesus, he 

I die with him. Gh, how little know we our 
own hearts! new unconscious are we of our 
own weakness and inability to resist temptation. 
How slow to learn that the secret of steadfastness 
and perseverance is humble reliance on the grace 
and strength of God. Except he uphold us, we 



114 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

are sure to fall. All our sufficiency is of him. 
But oft we learn this truth only by mortifying 
failures and disgraceful falls. The excited feel- 
ings of many a youthful convert, prompt him to 
anticipate a ready victory over every obstacle and 
enemy. All things must yield to his fervor and 
faith. Though all forsake Jesus, yet will he cleave 
to him. Often, perhaps, he looks with contempt 
at the slower pace and less ardent zeal of more 
experienced Christians, and exults in his more 
fervent religion and more vehement affection. 
But " Let not him that putteth on his armor, 
boast himself as he that taketh it off. 5 ' It is one 
thing to anticipate danger from afar, another to 
face it in reality. In the case of the sincere and 
whole-hearted, it may be hoped that the promise 
of Jesus will be finally realized. " Whither I go, 
thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt fol- 
low me afterwards." Meanwhile, there will pro- 
bably be many grievous falls and sore discomfi- 
tures, ere the victory be won. " Jesus answered 
him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake ? 
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not 
crow, till thou hast denied me thrice/' What a 
damp, this answer, upon the Apostle's enthusiasm ! 
How different a reply from what he probably ex- 
pected ! In his own heart he thinks the saying of 
Jesus harsh and unjust, and wonders at his Lord's 
unkind suspicions. But had he taken it aright, 



THE LAST SUPPER, 115 

how merciful a warning would it have proved ! 
How would he have gone forth armed for the con- 
flict with evil, and enabled in divine strength to 
stand ! There is one, brethren, who knows us 
better than we know ourselves, who is acquainted 
with all the depths of our deceitful hearts, who 
understands with what enemies we must cope in 
our spiritual warfare, and how little strength we 
have to meet them. He bids us, " Be not high- 
minded, but fear." " Let him that thinketh he 
standeth, take heed lest he fall." When our con- 
fidence is highest, he warns us of an approaching 
downfall. When our step is boldest, he points to 
the snare and ambush. When we look with im- 
patience and contempt upon the stumblings and 
failures of brethren, he warns, " Consider thyself, 
lest thou also be tempted.'''" Let us learn to place 
our confidence, not in our own resolution, fortitude 
and steadfastness, but in him who is our righteous- 
ness and strength. Let us lean upon his promised 
grace, and follow him in humble reliance and self- 
renouncing faith, and we shall be made more than 
conquerors. He will adapt the grace to the trial, 
" And as our days, so shall our strength be.' 3 And 
though, whither he hath gone, we may not be able 
to follow him now, yet we shall follow him hereaf- 
ter. When the time cometh, he will smooth our 
way, he will renew our strength, he will take us to 
himself, that where he is, there we may be also. 



THE DENIAL. 



LUKE XXII. 61, 62. 

" And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter 
remembered the word of the Lord, how lie had said unto him, 
Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went 
out, and wept bitterly." 

The name of the Apostle Peter is not more 
widely known, than his shameful denial of his 
Master. His grievous fall is associated, in every 
mind, with his history. His sin hath been written 
as it were with a pen of iron, and wherever the 
gospel hath been preached, is had in remembrance. 
His sin indeed seems to have affected the minds 
of men far more deeply than his repentance. The 
one hath been treasured up, while the other hath 
been lightly passed over. May we not consider 
this an evidence of the indelible character of sin. 
Here we notice how the act of a few moments 
hath outlived centuries ; is now, after such a lapse 
of time, fresh and vivid, and known in the utter- 
most parts of the earth. Our sins are not com- 
mitted indeed under circumstances so peculiar and 
remarkable, but have we not reason to suppose 
that they partake the same lasting and permanent 
Will they not revive in after periods 



THE DENIAL. 117 

of life to disquiet and alarm, and unless blotted 
out by the blood of that just One whom Peter 
denied, will they not come forth from the sleep of 
ages, swift witnesses against us in the day of ac- 
count? 

The fact of the grievous fall of Peter having 
been so widely divulged, is a striking proof of one 
characteristic peculiar to the Holy Scriptures. Of 
all books ever written the Bible is the most im- 
partial. 2\o matter by whom a sin is committed, 
it is described without the least attempt at con- 
cealment or palliation. The characters which are 
exhibited as on the whole most acceptable to God, 

-:■ not represented as faultless. No arts of rhe- 
toric are employed to hide or lessen their delin- 
quencies, j to the language of 
indiscriminate panegyric, or unqualified commen- 
dation. Good men appear on the plain unvar- 
nished page of Holy Writ only as men, frail and 
sinful men, not angels of light. There is but one 
perfect life recorded in the volume of God ; the 
life of Him who was '-'holy, harmless, undefiled, 
and separate from sinners." 

Is the difference between the best examples of 
Scripture, and the lives which are handed down 
to us by other historians, attributable to the greater 
excellence of the latter ? The biographer presents 
to us a character, according to his own ideas of 
perfection, without flaw or blemish. The sacred 



118 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

writer shows us the very best of whom he speaks 
betrayed into sin. But the distinction is that be- 
tween sober reality and flattering eulogy. iVnd 
the absence of all these arts of coloring, of all at- 
tempts at concealment or excuse, is part of the 
simplicity and truthfulness of the book of God. 
This most lamentable fall of one of the very chief- 
est of those Apostles by whom the gospel was 
spread over the earth, is recorded by each of the 
four Evangelists, without a syllable of remark or 
extenuation. They relate it with as much sim- 
plicity and honesty as they record the conduct of 
Caiaphas or Pilate. And it is worthy of note that 
none of the accounts are more full and impartial 
than that of St. Mark, whose gospel is supposed 
to have been written under the eye of Peter him- 
self. 

The sin was in truth one of the most aggra- 
vated of which a servant of God could be guilty. 
It was grievously enhanced by the peculiar favors 
extended to the Apostle during years of familiar 
intercourse. Peter had been called from his fish- 
ing boat to be a disciple and Apostle of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. Beyond even his brethren he had 
been favored. He had been one of his Lord's con- 
fidential friends, admitted to his private retire- 
ments, when nearly all the others were excluded. 
No token of affectionate confidence had been with- 
held from him. When his Master would raise the 



THE DENIAL- 119 

corpse, he took Peter with him to the death-cham- 
ber. When he would put on his garments of light, 
and shine in the celestial splendors of the transfi- 
guration, he chose Peter to be a witness of the di- 
vine marvel. At the still more solemn and heart- 
affecting scene which had just transpired in Geth- 
semane, Peter was also present. With a single 
exception, no disciple had received such evidences 
of his Lord's affection. And the promises made 
to him, in recompense of his faith and confession 
of his Master's Messiahship, had been, as we have 
seen, remarkable for their fullness and richness. 
Whether we regard the strong bonds of friend- 
ship, or the opportunities enjoyed of witnessing 
his Lord's mighty powers, there would seem every 
thing to confirm him in his steadfastness. If any 
disciple is to deny Jesus, surely not he who walked 
with him on the waves of the storm-lashed sea, 
who would have reared a tabernacle for him on 
the Holy Mount, who had so nobly confessed him 
to be the Christ, the Son of the living God ; who 
had witnessed him prostrate on the cold earth, 
bathed in the bloody sweat, praying with strong 
crying and supplications that if it were the Fa- 
ther's will, the bitter cup might pass. Yet this 
favored one it is, who disclaims all knowledge of 
his condescending and affectionate Master. 

The sin was aggravated by the Apostle's pre- 
vious protestations of unalterable adhesion. He 



120 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

had just uttered unsolicited assurances of his at- 
tachment. He volunteered most solemn pledges 
of his unwavering fidelity. It is the very Apostle 
who has just been protesting " Though I should 
die with thee, yet will not I deny thee." " I will 
lay down my life for thy sake." " Lord, 1 am 
ready to go with thee, both unto prison and to 
death ;" who, a few hours after, is so anxious to 
rid himself of the imputation of being Christ's 
follower. 

The sin was enhanced by his Lord's warnings. 
The Saviour took care to inform him of the ap- 
proaching danger, to remind him of his weakness, 
to point out the very snare into which he should 
fail. To be forewarned is to be fore-armed. He 
had been assured that " Satan desired to have 
him that he might sift him as wheat ;" that the 
very same night would be the time of peril, when 
all the disciples should be offended at what befell 
their Lord; and Peter more than the rest; yet the 
voice of warning availed nothing. 

The sin was made exceeding sinful by the so- 
lemnities of that eventful night. He had been 
present at the paschal feast, and at the institution 
of the Lord's supper. He had just received from 
his Master's hand the broken bread, emblem of his 
body about to be sacrificed, and the cup, expres- 
sive of the blood that should be shed for the re- 
mission of sins. From this holy celebration, this 



TEE DENIAL. 121 

exhibition of Christ's unspeakable tenderness and 
love, from listening to those inimitable discourses 
which then fell from the Saviour's lips, he could, 
a few hours after, abjure that Saviour's name. It 
would seem as if, whatever the danger at other 
times, he would now be strong in faith. 

The sin was aggravated by the distressing cir- 
cumstances of his Lord. It was " the hour of his 
enemies and the power of darkness/' Now, those 
calamities of which the Apostles had been so re- 
luctant to hear, and at the prospect of which the 
Redeemer's soul had been sorrowful and very 
heavy, began to thicken around him. The Son of 
Man has been betrayed and given into the hand 
of his enemies. He has been apprehended by the 
arm of violence, and dragged as if he were the 
vilest criminal to the judgment-seat. They "take 
counsel together to take away his life." " Fat 
bulls of Bashan compass him in on every side." 
His "soul is among lions." In the crowd around 
him, from the high Priest down to his meanest 
vassal, he sees no friendly countenance. Fierce 
enmity, cruel jealousy, implacable rage, flash from 
every eye. Surely this is a time, when if there be 
a heart beating with sympathy and affection for 
the persecuted man, that sympathy and affection 
would be most grateful to his wounded spirit. "A 
friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for 
adversity." Where now are the friends of Jesus, 



122 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

where his brethren, where those disciples whom 
he counted no less dear than mother, and sister, 
and brother ? At the outburst of danger " all 
forsook him and fled." And though one hath fol- 
lowed him to the judgment-hall, and is present 
to witness his contumelious and cruel treatment, 
yet is he there, not to comfort and cheer, but to 
inflict still deeper wounds upon the innocent suf- 
ferer. Can Peter behold that meek and lowly one, 
dumb as a lamb before its shearers, patient and 
uncomplaining, deserted and friendless, and not 
hasten to his side, be the risk what it may? Can 
he whisper no word of comfort in that ear which 
must listen to so many taunts and calumnies ? 
Can he not assure his Master, that, amid this 
throng of blasphemers and enemies, he hath one 
staunch friend, one reverent and affectionate fol- 
lower ? Can he not renew some of those protes- 
tations of inviolable attachment, w T hereof he was 
so lavish a little time ago ? How grateful now to 
that Master's heart the assurance — " Lord, I am 
ready to go with thee both to prison and to death 
But no, Peter hath not now a word of sympathy 
or reverence. It is not enough for him even to 
witness at a distance, and in silence, his Master's 
danger. If he open his mouth, it is not to con- 
fess or to comfort, but to disown and renounce 
his Lord. Rather than be involved in his con- 
demnation, he disclaims him utterly. How much 



jj 



THE DENIAL. 123 

less heinous would have been the denial of Christ, 
in the noon-day of his fame, when he was work- 
ing wonders, feeding thousands, surrounded by 
admiring crowds, than now, in his seemingly for- 
lorn, friendless, and defenceless condition ? 

The manner of the denial also renders it more 
glaringly hateful. It was a repeated renunciation 
of Christ. Three times at least, and as some 
commentators suppose, oftener, he disclaimed all 
knowledge of Jesus. Not conscience-stricken by 
one such act of baseness, he persists in the cow- 
ardy falsehood. Nay, to untruth and unkindness 
he adds perjury ; calling God to witness his sin- 
cerity, while uttering so wicked a lie. And when 
a single oath sufficed not to deceive his question- 
ers, he multiplied imprecations. " Then began he 
to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the 
man." Oh, w 7 hat a sad and dreadful change ! Is 
this the same Peter who aforetime had exclaimed 
with such affecting confidence : " Lord, to whom 
shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal 
life." Is this the mouth which uttered the memo- 
rable confession — " Thou art the Christ, the Son 
of the living God ;" which could appeal to his Mas- 
ter for the sincerity of his abandonment of every 
earthly hope ; " Lo, we have forsaken all and fol- 
lowed thee !" and which promised so earnestly fi- 
delity to the very last ? " Out of the same mouth 
proceedeth blessing and cursing." Lord, what is 



124 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

man ? How unstable his resolves, how deceitful 
and treacherous his heart ! Except thou uphold 
us, how suddenly, dreadfully, irretrievably may 
we fall ! Surely our own strength is perfect weak- 
ness : all our sufficiency is of God. 

Such was the character of Peter's sin — a sin 
of the most atrocious nature, enhanced by many 
fearful aggravations. None of the evangelists 
undertake in any manner to. excuse it. It is not 
therefore our duty to seek after apology or exte- 
nuation. Yet let it be borne in mind, in compar- 
ing this offence with those of other men, that 
there is indicated in our Lord's warnings an as- 
sault of the great adversary, of peculiar vehe- 
mence. " Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath de- 
sired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat/' 
He seems, too, to have been left for a time to him- 
self, the succors of divine grace having been with- 
drawn, in order to humble him, and to prove him, 
and to show him what was in his own heart. 
Christ prayed for him indeed that "his faith might 
not fail," utterly fail, so as never to return and 
recover itself. In answer to this prayer of Christ 
was granted his sincere and pungent repentance. 
But for that blessed intercession he had been a 
cast-away and a reprobate. But in the hour of 
temptation he was abandoned to his own powers 
of resistance, that his unhappy fall might forcibly 
remind himself, his brethren, and all Christians of 



THE DEXIAL. 125 

every age, of the weakness of the flesh, of the 
sure downfall of pride, of the inability of man in 
his best estate, without divine grace, to stand in 
the evil day. 

It is well for us to observe attentively the pre- 
cursors to Peter's fall One of these was self- 
confidence. He pays little heed to his Master's 
warnings of the impending danger. He protests 
his constancy in language that seems boastful and 
vain-glorious. " Though all men forsake Thee, 
yet will I never forsake thee/' As if he were 
above the frailties of other men, and superior to 
his brethren in constancy, faithfulness, and devo- 
tion. Connected with this self-dependence is a 
spirit of indolence and slumber. When his Mas- 
ter bids him to watch and pray — when that Mas- 
ter is himself wrestling in his agony, Peter is su- 
pinely sleeping. The warnings which he had just 
received, the divine instructions of his Lord, the 
solemnities of the last supper, the manifest burden 
of grief and anxiety oppressing his Master's soul, 
and the earnest injunctions laid upon him ; all are 
insufficient to rouse him to vigilance and prayer. 
From the Saviour's words and manner it is evi- 
dent that some awful event is now impending. 
Never had he appeared so greatly agitated, so ex- 
ceeding sorrowful. The Disciples might plainly 
perceive that this night would be no common 
night. The crisis of their Master's history is at 



126 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

hand. Now he needs, if ever, the sympathy and 
the assistance of his followers. Now are his fol- 
lowers themselves in the midst of perils. Yet at 
this time, so ominous and threatening, so solemn 
and eventful, Peter cannot watch with his Lord 
one hour. While that Lord is waging his terrible 
conflict, and fainting under the mountain burden 
of our sins ; while his thrilling supplications startle 
the silent shades of Gethsemane, and his sweat, 
like drops of blood, rains upon the cold earth, 
Peter is buried in careless repose. Is it strange 
that he who could sleep at Gethsemane should 
deny his Lord in the judgment hall ? 

Then, when roused by the irruption of Judas 
and his armed bands into £he garden, to a sense 
of the danger; instead of arming himself with the 
same mind of patience and fortitude, which his 
divine Master exhibited, he first, in his impetu- 
osity, draws the sword in that Master's defence ; 
and then, his hasty courage vanishing, flies panic- 
stricken from the spot. Soon after, anxious to 
know his fate, he summons resolution to follow 
him, but it is afar off. He is evidently fearful of 
being discovered as a friend of Jesus, and there is 
naught like fervent and self-sacrificing affection 
in his whole deportment. 

, The Christian, dear brethren, who is high- 
minded and self-confident, who has no ear for the 
earnest cautions and warnings of Holy Writ, who 



THE DENIAL. 127 

despises the danger against which he is bidden to 
guard, who has no heart for the vigilance, circum- 
spection and self-denial of his calling, who sleeps 
when Christ bids him watch and pray, who is little 
affected by his Saviour's agony and love stronger 
than death; who is listless and supine after solemn 
ordinances; who would follow Jesus indeed, but 
not near enough to incur the world's scorn and 
enmity ; that Christian, it is much to be feared, 
will end with denying and renouncing his Master. 
But while Peter's sin was of so dark a hue, it 
was not of long continuance. " He was over- 
taken/"' as the Scripture express it, " in a fault." 
Off his guard, unready and unarmed, he was as- 
sailed by a sudden and violent onset of the enemy, 
and dashed rudely to the ground. But his con- 
duct on this occasion was a marked exception to 
the tenor of his life. For this short period he 
appears altogether another man from the warm- 
hearted, affectionate, devoted follower of Christ, 
which he evidently was before and after. There 
is this wide and marked distinction between the 
sins of the child of God, and of the ungodly. In 
the one case they are interruptions of the usual 
life, yieldings to sudden temptation, surprises of 
an ever- watchful enemy in seasons of neglect and 
remissness. In the other case, they are the fruits 
of the habitual temper and disposition, manifesta- 
tions of the man's true spirit, such conduct as 



128 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

flows naturally and necessarily from the state of 
his heart. In the one case, lapses from the right 
way will be the occasion of sincere grief and self- 
reproach. They will be truly lamented, freely 
confessed, bitterly bewailed. In the other case, 
they will be attended by no compunction or re- 
gret, no humiliation before God, no earnest re- 
solves for the future. In the one case, there will 
be a looking unto Jesus, a keen sense of the dis- 
honor and injury done to a gracious Lord ; a meet- 
ing, as it were, of His reproachful glance. In the 
other case there may be a regret for the detection 
of the sin or for its consequences, a selfish dread 
of punishment, but no true compunction or sor- 
row for unkind treatment of a heavenly benefac- 
tor. If we mourn for this great Apostle's deplo- 
rable fall, if we venture not to excuse the turpi- 
tude and wickedness of his conduct, we must be 
at the same time impressed by the sincerity and 
heartiness of his repentance. The same hour 
which witnessed his ungrateful denial of the Lord, 
with oaths and curses, witnessed also his tears of 
contrition and groans of sorrowful regret. 

Turning our thoughts to the Apostle's repen- 
tance, we notice first, that it was prompt and 
speedy. It was no after thought of months or 
years, no slow and late return to a better mind, 
but it followed immediately the offence. 

Neither was it deferred until the present danger 



THE DENIAL. 129 

was overpast. The Apostle waited not until the 
clouds that now lowered over his Master's head, 
were dispersed. It was not after his triumphant 
resurrection and glorious ascension that his re- 
lentings were kindled, but in the time of his deep- 
est depression, while yet a helpless prisoner in the 
hands of his enemies, put to plead as a culprit be- 
fore an unjust tribunal, and about to be sentenced 
to an ignominious death. 

Neither was Peter's repentance wrung from 
him by providential affliction and impending death. 
The hand of the Almighty was not laid heavily 
upon him to extort confession and supplication. 
He was free to depart, to go back to his former 
occupation. The vengeance of Christ's enemies 
would scarcely then pursue his humble, inoffen- 
sive followers to their cottages and fishing boats. 
So far as his earthly prospects are concerned, it 
would seem for Peter's advantage now to cut loose 
altogether from the ship-wrecked and sinking 
cause of Jesus of Nazareth. Again, one of the 
most observable things in the Apostle's penitence, 
is the effect produced by the eye of his injured 
Master. It was in the very midst of his strange 
and horrible imprecations, that " The Lord turned 
and looked upon Peter." Probably the distance 
between them was such that he expected not his 
words of denial to reach that Master's ear. But 
that look assures him that every word hath been 



130 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

noted. He finds that Jesus, in the midst of his 
enemies, accused, threatened, and tried for his life, 
is yet heedful of his disciple's language. " The 
Lord turned and looked upon Peter/' It was at 
the very moment when the crowing of the cock 
brought back to his mind the Saviour's warning, 
and all the solemnity and tenderness of his manner 
at the celebration of the supper. It was a look of 
reproach. " Art thou also against me, Peter ? Is 
it not enough that I am now so sorely pressed by 
my enemies — that insults are heaped so unsparing- 
ly upon my head — that my face is exposed to shame 
and spitting, that my hour is come, and the Son of 
Man betrayed into the hands of enemies ? Is 
it not enough to be reviled and threatened by my 
persecutors ? Must I be denied by thee, my own 
familiar friend, with whom I have so often taken 
sweet counsel, and from whom I have received 
such strong and repeated protestations of attach- 
ment ?" It was a look of sorrow and pity. " Un- 
happy man, has it come to this ? Hast thou so 
yielded to simple fears as to become a very apos- 
tate, a false and perjured man, a profane denier of 
Him whom thine own mouth hath named the Son 
of the living God ? Oh ! thy wretched downfall 
pierces me more sharply than the scourge ; presses 
upon me more heavily than impending death." 

But it was also a look of love. No anger 
flashed from those tearful eyes, no indignant sur- 



THE DENIAL. 131 

prise gleamed from those mild features. "Peter, 
thou art still my disciple, my affection for thee is 
undiminished, my soul yearns for thy return ; 
though thou hast denied me so unkindly and un- 
gratefully, yet I will not forsake or renounce thee. 
There is still a place for thee in this bleeding 
heart — there is still healing for thee in my wounds 
and stripes." Under that look of gentle reproof 
and reproachful tenderness, the Apostle's heart 
melted in a moment. There rushes back upon 
him a flood of touching recollections. He now 
appears to himself a monster of ingratitude and 
baseness. He cannot bear that glance. It is 
more terrible to him than all the swords and 
weapons of the armed multitude. In an agony of 
grief he hastens from the spot. He seeks a retire- 
ment, where he can pour out unrestrained, the 
gushings of his troubled soul. "He went out and 
wept bitterly." This is all which the evangelists 
tell us, but it is enough : — it reveals to us a depth 
of intense emotion, a sorrow unfeigned and over- 
flowing. His repentance was correspondent with 
his sin ; the one no less pungent and sincere, than 
the other was hateful and aggravated. How true 
his repentance, his after life is the most conclu- 
sive evidence. Peter never as-ain denied his 
Lord, never wavered in temptation's hour, never 
shrunk back in time of danger. 

Is it only, brethren, in such a scene as the hall 



132 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

of Caiaphas that Christ can be denied ? Was it 
only when he was in the flesh, that he could be 
disowned and renounced ? Is not Christ still with 
us ? Confessed and followed by a faithful few ; 
disowned by treacherous friends and unstable dis- 
ciples ; mocked at by an unbelieving world ? 
Doth he not expressly say, " He that is not with 
me is against me, and w T hoso gathereth not with 
me scattereth." Many there are now, who virtu- 
ally deny the Lord who bought them. To be 
ashamed of Christ, brethren, to be unwilling to be 
known and marked as his disciple, to shrink from 
the reproach of his cross, to shun that censorious 
notice, that displeasure of the ungodly, w T hich 
would attend an honest, manly, consistent, uncom- 
promising profession and practice of Christianity, 
is to deny him. Though Jesus hath ascended into 
the heavens, yet hath he left here on earth his re- 
ligion, his doctrine, his church, and his ordinances; 
and as we treat them, we are really treating him. 
"He that heareth you/' is his language to the 
seventy, and to all who follow them in their work, 
"heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth 
me." Peter denied his Lord for an hour : have 
none of you denied him for successive years ? 
Peter denied his Lord under the pressure of im- 
minent danger, when to stand by Jesus was appa- 
rently to share his cross. But if you deny him, it 
is in the time of prosperity, when no persecution 



THE DENIAL. 133 

rages and no death impends ; when the fires of 
martyrdom are quenched, and the dungeon no 
longer yawns for the faithful confessor. Peter 
denied his Lord, but speedily, earnestly repented. 
Perhaps you have never sorrowed for your unkind 
treatment of him who died for you. You, it is 
possible, have never felt a single regret, or shed a 
single tear, on account of your persevering and 
unthankful rejection of your Redeemer. But re- 
member that he hath said : " Whosoever denieth 
me before men, him will I also deny before my 
Father who is in heaven." Remember that they 
who have sinned like Peter, if they would find 
mercy of the Lord in that day, must, like him, 
earnestly and unfeignedly repent. 



THE RESTORATION TO THE APOSTLESHIP. 



JOHN XXI. 17. 

"He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, 
lovest thou me ? Peter was grieved because he saith unto him 
the third time, Lovest thou me ? And he said unto him, Lord, 
thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesu3 
saith unto him, Feed my sheep." 

The interval between the death, and resurrec- 
tion of our divine Saviour, must have been to his 
faithful Disciples a season of consternation and 
gloom. Their high raised hopes seem utterly de- 
feated : their sanguine anticipations quenched in 
the midnight darkness of the grave. He to whom 
they had clung with fond attachment and implicit 
confidence is now the tenant of the sepulchre, 
and "as yet they knew not the saying that* he 
must rise again from the dead/' They feel them- 
selves objects of suspicion and hatred to his ma- 
lignant enemies, and have reason to fear that the 
hostility which hath wreaked its vengeance upon 
the Master, will not wholly pass over the Dis- 
ciples. But of this little band, whose feelings 
would be less enviable than those of the Apostle 
Peter ? Not only did he share in the common 
calamity, and participate in the anxiety and grief 



THE RESTORATION. 135 

that weighed upon the hearts of his brethren, but 
he had his private sorrows more pungent still. To 
the general consternation was added, in his case, 
the distressing memory of that scene in the hall 
of Caiaphas, when, for the last time, he had seen 
face to face his injured Master. With every re- 
collection of Jesus would be united the melan- 
choly circumstances of his arraignment and death, 
and the thought that he himself, a favored follower 
and friend, had done so much to embitter the last 
moments of one so kind and gracious. What an 
interview was that, for the final one ! To think 
that the last words from the Disciple's lips which 
met that Master's ear, were the scornful denial 
and the impious curse. To recall the last look of 
that injured Master, when his meek, reproachful 
glance rested with such sorrowful meaning upon 
his false and ungrateful Apostle. To think that 
Jesus was now beyond the assurances of his re- 
pentance for this unkind and wicked renunciation, 
and that, however sincere his regret, he could not 
convey it to him whom he had wronged. There 
can scarce be a more poignant remorse than that 
which results from the conviction of unkindness 
to the departed, to those who are now beyond our 
reach, inaccessible to the expressions of our re- 
gret, or to the offers of reparation. Such must 
have been the nature of Peter's grief in this 
mournful interval. If he could but come again to 



136 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

his Master, clasp his feet, confess his offence, and 
assure him of his unfeigned contrition, what a re- 
lief to his burdened soul. But that Master is no 
more. He hath died with those grievous words 
ringing in his ear, with that odious ingratitude 
pressing heavily upon his heart. And often, at 
the thought, the Apostle's grief is renewed, and 
his tears flow with increased bitterness. 

But at length dawns that auspicious morn, 
when the Prince of Life burst the bands of death, 
and came forth more than a Conqueror from the 
tomb. That grave, so secure a prison of frail mor- 
tals ; which holds the mighty ones of earth mo- 
tionless and submissive in its dark recesses ; which 
no human wisdom can evade, and no human 
strength can overcome, yields at length its victory. 
He who consented to lie there for a little time, 
hath triumphed gloriously, and hath set his foot 
upon the neck of the vanquished King of Terrors. 
Henceforth the grave is no longer appalling to 
them that trust in Him, who is " the Resurrection 
and the Life." 

The first intimation that reaches the Apostles 
that something strange had occurred, and that 
their Master's tomb is open, is from Mary Mag- 
dalene. Her affectionate zeal had anticipated her 
companions, with whom she had appointed to visit 
the sepulchre on the morning of the first day of the 
week ; and brought her, while it was yet dark, to 



THE RESTORATION. 137 

the place whither tended all their hearts. " She 
seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre. 
Then she runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, 
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and 
saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord 
out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they 
have laid him." Regarding only her earthly at- 
tachment to her revered Master, and forgetful of 
his own pre-intimations of the great event of that 
day, she can only mourn for what appears a viola- 
tion of the sacredness of his grave. From the fact 
that Peter was now with John, we gather that he 
was determined to cast in his lot altogether with 
the disciples of Jesus, and to meet any danger 
that might come upon them for their Master's 
sake. The eager Apostles hasten with all speed 
to the tomb in Joseph's garden. John, first ar- 
riving, looks in, and ascertains that it is empty, 
Peter coming up immediately after, w T ith his cha- 
racteristic boldness, enters the abode of death. 
While the body of Jesus is missing, he yet notices 
that his grave-clothes are there, folded up with a 
care that betokens no hasty and furtive removal. 
Here were evident indications of deliberation, 
however the grave had become vacant. When 
John likewise entered and gazed upon these re- 
markable signs, conviction flashed upon his mind 
of the great and glorious event which had taken 
place. But Peter's heart was not yet open to this 



138 LIFE OF, THE APOSTLE PETER. 

truth, and he turned away from the scene per- 
plexed and troubled. Soon another, and still more 
startling announcement reaches the assembled 
Apostles, from the company of women unto w r hom 
two angels had manifested themselves in fhe for- 
saken tomb, " But their words seemed to them as 
idle tales/' too wonderful to be credited. Peter's 
anxiety leads him however again to the sepulchre, 
but no angels are now visible, and every thing 
wears the same aspect as before. " He departed, 
wondering in himself at that which was come to 
pass." But as the hours glide on, the tidings 
thicken. Next comes Mary Magdalene again with 
the good news that the Lord himself had appear- 
ed unto her. She who' was last at the cross and 
first at the tomb, had been first favored with the 
sight of her risen Lord. And before the evening 
of that blessed Easter, when he suddenly appear- 
ed in the midst of his gathered disciples, three 
other manifestations are recorded. One of these 
was to Peter himself. Of this interview, which 
we should suppose to have been one of the most 
touching and remarkable, no particulars have been 
made known. All that we find in the New Tes- 
tament is a simple statement of the fact. When 
the two disciples, unto whom Christ had revealed 
himself on the way to Emmaus, returned with 
joyful haste to their brethren, they were encoun- 
tered with the salutation, " The Lord is risen in- 



THE RESTORATION. 139 

deed and hath appeared unto Simon." And this 
appearance was so much noted, that when the 
Apostle Paul refers to the resurrection of the Sa- 
viour he places it first. " And that he rose again 
the third day according to the scriptures; and that 
he was see* of Cephas, then of the twelve." Silent 
therefore though the Evangelists have all been 
concerning what took place at this appearance, it 
is plain that much importance was attached to it. 
We would fain learn more of this meeting. Gladly 
would we know what the Lord said to his fallen 
Apostle, what kind and consolatory expressions 
he used to reassure and comfort his troubled heart, 
and how he spake to him words of pardon and 
peace. Gladly would we know what was the de- 
meanor of the humbled and penitent Peter. Was 
he speechless with deep emotion, only able to cast 
himself in abasement at his Master's feet, scarce 
venturing to meet that eye which when it fell 
upon him last had pierced him like a sword ? Or 
did he pour forth contrite acknowledgments of his 
offence, and fervently supplicate for the restora- 
tion of that favor which he had so justly forfeited. 
Of all this we are ignorant. But we can well 
understand that this manifestation of the risen 
Saviour to the most guilty of his Apostles, except 
the traitor Judas, was intended to assure both him- 
self and his brethren that he was freely forgiven, 
and would be fully restored to his Apostleship. 



140 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

And in the privacy of the interview, not a single 
witness present, we may perceive the tenderness 
of our Lord to his erring disciple. He spared him 
the pain and confusion that might have over- 
whelmed him at first meeting his Saviour, in the 
presence of all his brethren. Strange though it 
may be, yet the penitent can meet his offended 
God and expose to him the foulness of his sin, 
more freely and unrestrainedly, than to a fellow 
mortal. Let the conscience-stricken and guilty- 
burdened carry their load of sin at once to Jesus, 
and they shall find rest to their souls. 

The full re-investment of Peter with that pas- 
toral and apostolic office, which he had so justly for- 
feited, was reserved, however, for another occasion. 
In common with his brethren, he had received, in- 
deed, the high and holy commission from his risen 
Saviour on the evening of the resurrection day. 
But as he had so grievously apostatized, his resto- 
ration needed to be more marked and particular. 
During the period that intervened between the 
resurrection and the ascension of Christ, the Apos- 
tles returned to their old occupation, and toiled 
to procure the means of subsistence. Again, we 
find them in a fishing-boat on that lake, upon 
whose shores they had been nurtured, and upon 
whose waters they had so often sailed with their 
beloved Master. The scene, we should suppose, 
must have recalled to them many of the memora- 



THE RESTORATION. 141 

ble incidents of their intercourse with him. Here 
it was that Jesus found them, and called them 
from their craft to be his close and constant fol- 
lowers. These waters, now calm and peaceful, 
they had seen, when lashed by the tempest, and 
threatening to engulf them, stilled in a moment 
by his word. On these very waves they had seen 
him walk as on dry land, in the wild midnight 
storm. On these shores he had fed, with a few 
loaves and fishes, the fainting multitudes ; and 
from many a well-remembered spot had they lis- 
tened to his divine instructions, and wondered at 
his gracious words. Everything, we might sup- 
pose, would here bring Jesus to their minds. Yet 
when, after a night of unsuccessful toil, a form 
appears in the grey light of early morn upon the 
strand — they at first knew him not. Like Joseph, 
he made himself strange to his brethren, until the 
time of discovery arrived. They suspect not, as 
they pursue, disheartened, their unrequited task, 
that the stranger on the shore is Jesus. They un- 
derstood not that their want of success was of his 
ordering, so that when the net, so oft drawn up 
empty, cast again at his bidding, should enclose a 
great multitude of fishes, they might attribute the 
abundant draught entirely to him. So Jesus is 
often near when his people suspect him not. He 
may come to them in another guise than they look 
for, and wear a strange aspect. It may be long 



142 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

before they discover that the form which, perhaps, 
they feared and shrunk from, is verily their Lord. 
And sometimes, when his ministers are toiling 
long and vainly, and the gospel net again and 
again comes up empty, it is because he is prepar- 
ing a large ingathering of precious souls in a way 
that shall prove the power to be evidently of God 
and not of man. 

The unknown stranger on the shore, inquires 
in a kind and friendly manner, respecting their 
success ; and when the answer is unfavorable, bids 
them cast the net on the right side of the ship, 
and they should find. " Trfey cast, therefore, and 
now they were not able to draw it for the multi- 
tude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom 
Jesus loved, saith unto, Peter, It is the Lord.'"' 
The same conviction, we should think, must have 
struck the minds of all. The circumstances would 
powerfully recall former scenes on that lake ; and 
above all, the time when the four Apostles were 
called by their Master to leave all and follow him. 
Then, as now, there had been a long, laborious 
night of profitless toil. Then, as now, at the 
word of Jesus, they had tried another cast, and 
had scarce been able to draw their nets for the 
abundant contents. Surely the form, so unex- 
pectedly appearing on the solitary shore, must be 
that of him who had promised to make them 
" fishers of men." But upon no heart would be 



THE RESTORATION. 143 

made a deeper impression than on Peter's. He 
would recall the confession of sinfulness where- 
with he fell at that Master's feet ; the awe and 
reverence wherewith he regarded the nearness of 
one so holy : his entreaty to Christ to depart from 
him, not knowing what he said ; and the merciful 
condescension wherewith he was answered and 
encouraged. He would remember with what 
warmth of gratitude and zeal he then devoted 
himself to that Master's service, determined that 
nought but death should part them. And he 
would also think how strangely and sadly he had 
failed to carry out his resolutions and vows. Oh, 
how humbling and yet how profitable may it prove 
to a professed follower of Christ, who hath wan- 
dered from the way of righteousness, to have re- 
called and revived the circumstances of his first 
acquaintance with his Redeemer ; his early vows 
of obedience ; his emotions of gratitude and love 
when he entered into the bonds of the gospel co- 
venant. Let some providential event, or some 
still small voice of the Spirit, whisper again to his 
soul the solemn promises then made to his Saviour 
and his God ; the feelings that burned in the 
breast ; the fervent contrition ; the earnest purpose : 
the sense of redeeming love ; the conviction of the 
world's vanity, and the soul's preciousness, and 
the Redeemer's grace; and through the divine 
blessing, the erring and straying will return with 



144 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

weeping and supplication to him whom they had 
aforetime vowed to serve and follow. The Apos- 
tle Peter, in the fervor of his renewed devotion 
to the Lord who had dealt so mercifully with him, 
casts himself into the sea to come to him the more 
quickly. Yet, neither himself nor his brethren 
who followed him in the boat, " durst ask him 
who art thou, knowing that it was the Lord." 
There seems, indeed, to be manifest in the deport- 
ment of the Apostles towards their Master, after 
his resurrection, a greater reverence and awe 
than before. While they venerated him before as 
the Messiah, he had yet dwelt with them as a 
man. Now, they look with astonishment as well 
as love upon him who had burst the fetters of the 
grave, and returned to them from the invisible 
world ; who showed himself to them in a manner 
so sudden and mysterious ; who came and went 
like a being not of the earth, earthy ; and upon 
whose countenance and form there rested an al- 
most celestial dignity. 

Passing by other interesting particulars of this 
remarkable interview, let us devote a brief atten- 
tion to the searching questions proposed by the 
Saviour to the Apostle whose life we are review- 
ing. " So when they had dined, Jesus saith to 
Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, lovest thou me 
more than these ? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord : 



THE RESTORATION. 145 

thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto 
him, Feed my lambs." 

The question must deeply have agitated the 
penitent Apostle. Well might Jesus ask, " Simon, 
lovest thou me ?" Now, indeed, Simon was with 
him in the posture of an humble, affectionate dis- 
ciple. But, how short a time since, had he denied 
and abjured his Lord ? What had become of his 
former professions of attachment in the time of 
danger ? None had more strongly vowed fidelity 
and love. None had so unkindly and ungratefully 
requited their Master's tenderness. Dost thou 
then, indeed, cherish towards me, Simon, a true 
affection ? Is there reality in thy love ? Will it 
be proof against the day of adversity, and the 
time of persecution and peril ? Lovest thou me 
more than these, thy brethren ? Dost thou still 
claim to be the most zealous and faithful of all my 
followers ?" Peter could not but feel how justly 
he deserved this appeal. His answer breathes a 
different spirit from that which he had aforetime 
exhibited. It is in a manifestly chastened and 
subdued tone. " Yea, Lord, thou knowest that 
I love thee." He does not say, "I love thee 
more than these." He ventures to arrogate no 
superiority over his brethren in this respect. He 
appeals to his Lord's own knowledge for the sin- 
cerity of his attachment. " Thou, Lord, hast 
showed me that thou knowest my heart better 



146 LITE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

than I know it myself. I presume not to boast, as 
once, my warm affection. I am truly conscious 
of my flagrant ingratitude. I confess myself a 
grievous backslider and apostate. But, Lord, 
dost thou not still find this heart, so open to thy 
piercing eye, beating with love and reverence to- 
wards thee ?" The Saviour answers not directly 
the appeal, but he admits its truth when he says 
to him, " Feed my lambs/' This is as much as 
to say, " Yes, Peter, I am so persuaded of the sin- 
cerity of thy penitence and love, that I confide to 
thee again the pastoral charge. I give into thy 
care those sheep for which I laid down my life, 
and thus bestow the greatest possible mark of my 
confidence. And if thou dost indeed love me, 
prove it by thy watchfulness, zeal and care as a 
shepherd of the flock. 'Feed my lambs/ Con- 
descend to the weakest and feeblest of my people. 
Despise not the little ones, and dispense to those 
whom I have bought with my blood, the scriptural 
instruction and unwearied labors which are re- 
quired for their salvation/' 

The same gigantic, anti-Christian despotism 
which hath perverted our Saviour's former lan- 
guage to this Apostle, as if meant to make a frail 
mortal the foundation Rock of the Church, in- 
stead of Christ himself, the elect and precious 
corner-stone ; hath been equally anxious to wrest 
from these words of Christ an interpretation fa- 



THE RESTORATION. 147 

vorable to its ends. When Christ said to Peter, 
" Feed my sheep/'' we are told, he gave him the 
rule and oversight of the whole Church, and 
made him universal pastor, with unlimited powers. 
Indeed ! How happens it then, that in the subse- 
quent Apostolic history, we never read more of 
this immense grant of spiritual authority ? How 
happens it that Peter never presumed to exercise 
his just dominion, and that his fellow Apostles 
never indicate any conviction that they are merely 
his delegates and servants ? Throughout their 
whole subsequent history, we find them adminis- 
tering as brethren, the affairs of the Church, and 
taking counsel together in perfect equality, as 
alike the Apostles of Christ. No ! the Church is 
not Peter's Church, nor the Church of Peter's suc- 
cessors, if any such there be. It is the Church of 
Christ. " Feed my sheep/' 5 It was the Saviour's 
grace, at this time, to unite Peter again with his 
brethren, in the pastoral charge of the flock. If 
it be asked why this is said to this one Apostle, 
and not to his brethren also, the answer is obvi- 
ous : Because this one Apostle had denied his 
Lord, and the others had not. Thus, he had justly 
forfeited ail claim to the x\postleship. It needed 
some special token of his Master's confidence, to 
assure him and his brethren that he was reinstat- 
ed. It was not necessary to renew to those who 
had never forfeited the pastoral trust, the same 



148 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

commission. But it was indispensable that it 
should be reconveyed to him, and that in a man- 
ner most deeply to impress his heart. And what 
is the injunction ? " Feed my sheep." And how 
are they to be fed ? With saving truth — " truth 
as it is in Jesus ;" with the bread of life, the pure 
gospel, the teaching of God as it is given uncor- 
rupt in his own blessed word. Even if it had 
been, what it is not, a committal of the whole 
flock of Jesus to this Apostle, or to his successors, 
it would have been a committal of them to be fed 
and taught, and guided in the way to heaven ; not 
to be ruled with a rod of iron ; not to be seduced 
into idolatry ; not to be poisoned with streams of 
falsehood and deceit ; not to have the traditions of 
men imposed instead of the commandments of 
God ; not to be debarred access to the word of 
life ; not to be imprisoned, hunted, anathematized, 
and burned at the stake, if they choose to with- 
draw their necks from the yoke of bondage. Let 
those who would derive any authority from these 
words of Jesus to his disciple, see to it, that they 
discover w T hat it is to feed Christ's sheep ; that 
they prove shepherds and not wolves ; and consi- 
der the Apostle's own address in his epistle to the 
elders or presbyters of the Church. " Feed the 
flock of God which is among you, taking the over- 
sight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not 
for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; neither as 



THE RESTORATION. 



149 



being lords over God's heritage, but being exam- 
ples to the flock." * 

The threefold repetition of our Lord's question 
was intended to bring back vividly to the mind of 
the Apostle, his threefold denial. Well might 
Jesus ask again and again, to be assured of the 
fidelity and attachment of one who had again and 
again renounced him. With intense feeling the 
Apostle appeals to his Lord's omniscience for sa- 



tisfaction of these reasonable doubts. 



Peter 



was grieved, because he said unto him the third 
time, Lovest thou me. And he said unto him, 
Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest that 
I love thee." And now the Saviour shows, in the 
most decisive way, his confidence in this profes- 
sion, by not only renewing the pastoral charge, 
" Feed my sh ep," but by promising the Apostle, 
as the close of his earthly service, the crown of 
martyrdom. " Verily, verily, I say unto thee, 
when thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and 
walkedst whither thou wouldest : but when thou 
shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, 
and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whi- 
ther thou wouldest not. This spake he, signify- 
ing by what death he should glorify God. And 
when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Fol- 
low me." Thus Peter was called again to follow 



* 1 Peter v. 2, S. 



150 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Jesus, reinvested with the forfeited office of an 
Apostle, and assured that his Saviour would yet 
grant him the high privilege of proving the sin- 
cerity of his love, by laying down his life in his 
service. Suppose, brethren, the same searching 
question to be proposed to us, by the same Sa- 
viour, " Lovest thou me ?" What could some of 
you answer, who are yet strangers to his convert- 
ing grace, who have never even acknowledged 
him as Master, or vowed to him allegiance ? You 
do not even profess to love the Lord who bought 
you. What could you answer, unstable and back- 
sliding disciple ? Is there not cause enough for 
the Saviour, whose covenant you have broken, to 
remind you of your once plighted faith, and ask, 
" Lovest thou me ?" What could you answer, 
who have been, so far as man can judge, true and 
faithful, apparently holding the beginning of your 
confidence steadfast unto the end ? As you look 
back with shame and confusion of face upon the 
past, as you think how much that Saviour hath 
done for you, and how little you have done for 
him, recount your failures, short comings, and pro- 
vocations, do you not find also cause why Christ 
should probe you with the same question ? Still 
it is the privilege of the sincere disciple, while 
conscious of weakness, perverseness, ingratitude, 
unprofitableness ; while mourning, coldness of 
heart, languor of zeal, remissness of service, to 



THE RESTORATION 151 

appeal to the Searcher of hearts ; " Lord, thou 
knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee/' 
" Thou knowest, Lord, that it is my earnest, su- 
preme desire to live to thy glory, and follow thy 
blessed footsteps. Thou art dearer to me than the 
world, with its hollow show T and lying vanities ; 
dearer to me than my own self-will and pleasure ; 
dearer to me than silver and gold, than honors and 
riches ; dearer even than kindred and friends, and 
all on earth that is precious. But if we do trust 
and hope that we might so appeal to the heart 
searcher, let us remember the test to which 
our affection is to be brought. " If ye love me, 
keep my commandments." Prove the sincerity 
of your love by unreserved obedience. And if 
you have returned to the great Bishop and Shep- 
herd of your souls, cherish a true regard for his 
flock, and especially for the lambs of that flock. 
Christian parent, to you the Saviour speaks as 
well as to his ministers. " Lovest thou me ? Feed 
my lambs." And if any of us are disposed to ac- 
quiesce, with indifference and unconcern, in the 
conviction that we are indeed destitute of this 
principle of heaven-derived affection to our Re- 
deemer, oh, let us call to mind the emphatic 
Scripture — " If any man love not the Lord Jesus 
Christ, let him be Anathema, Maranatha." 



PENTECOST. 



ACTS II. 37. 



" Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, 
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and 
brethren, what shall we do ? " 

Hitherto we have known the Apostle Peter as 
a follower and companion of the Lord Jesus. He 
hath been in constant attendance upon his divine 
Master, enjoying the high privilege of listening to 
his instructions, witnessing his miracles, and unit- 
ing with him in prayer and devotion. He has 
been permitted to study, as closely as he will, that 
most perfect example of spotless life, and to im- 
bibe, from intimate companionship and unrestrict- 
ed intercourse, a portion of his pure and lovely 
spirit. But this, as we should suppose most de- 
lightful season, was but a preparation-time for the 
great work to which Peter was destined. He had 
been in a course of education, under his Master's 
eye, for the future labors and trials of his arduous 
office. From his Saviour's lips he had been ga- 
thering the noblest lessons of truth and wisdom. 
In his example he had seen the true pattern of 
Christianity, the model to be presented for imita- 
tion to redeemed men. Of the great events through 



PENTECOST. 



153 



which redemption was accomplished, he had been 
a close and attentive witness — and, now, he could 
testify to them with perfect sincerity, and with a 
strong conviction and earnestness that must per- 
suade his hearers. None are really useful as la- 
borers in the vineyard of the Lord who have not 
been trained by himself. There is a school of 
humble discipleship, and experimental knowledge 
of his own grace and truth, in which Christ edu- 
cates those who shall be instruments in advanc- 
ing his kingdom. No native endowments, or ac- 
quired stores of knowledge, or shining talents, or 
degree of popular acceptance will dispense with 
this preparation. The preacher of Christ must 
be first a learner from Christ. He must have 
known the comfort and profit of soul-intercourse 
with Jesus, before he is fitted to make Jesus known 
to others. And not a day of sincere and humble 
walking with Christ, but will tell sooner or later 
upon the work. Even the mistakes, the falls, the 
rebukes of this preparatory time, will conduce to 
greater aptness and success in dealing w T ith the 
souls of men. "When thou art converted/' said 
the Lord to Peter, as he foretold the lamentable 
fall of the Apostle, " When thou art converted," 
restored again, recovered from thy fearful apos- 
tacy, " strengthen thy brethren. " # The history 



* Luke xxii. 32. 



154 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

of the Apostle, in the book of the Acts, shows 
how he remembered this injunction. 

Henceforth, therefore, we observe Peter in 
another character — not merely a learner, but a 
teacher — doing the work of an Evangelist, and 
embarking with his whole heart and soul in the 
noble enterprise of spreading abroad the saving 
knowledge of Christ, of turning sinners from dark- 
ness to light, and from the power of Satan unto 
God. There is a marked contrast, not only in the 
position and circumstances of the man, but in the 
man himself; a contrast that will repeatedly force 
itself upon our attention, as we pursue the narra- 
tive. The disciples of Jesus, after witnessing his 
wondrous ascension from the Mount of Olives, 
return according to his command to Jerusalem, 
there to await in earnest expectation the fulfil- 
ment of a great and precious promise. During 
this interval, " they all continued in prayer and 
supplication." It was a most solemn and inter- 
esting juncture. Christ had left them, so far as 
his visible presence was concerned. And although 
their faith was so confirmed and established by 
his glorious resurrection and ascension, yet must 
there have been somewhat of a sense of loneliness 
and helplessness on account of the departure of 
Him, upon whom they had been so accustomed to 
depend. Connected with regret at his removal, 
however, was anxious expectation of the promised 



PENTECOST. 155 

gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift which the Saviour 
had described in such sublime and emphatic lan- 
guage, assuring them that it would more than com- 
pensate for his own bodily presence, so that it was 
even expedient for them that he should go away. 
If there were continually in the church that spirit 
of prayer and supplication, of unanimity and fra- 
ternal love, of faith and expectation which pre- 
vailed in that little company, doubtless the Spirit 
of God would continue to descend in more con- 
stant and copious influences. 

Before, however, the arrival of the expected 
blessing, we observe the Apostle Peter moving in 
a matter of great importance. Our Lord had 
chosen from out the body of his disciples, twelve 
to be his Apostles, his most favored servants and 
confidential friends. In appointing just this num- 
ber he had reference to the twelve tribes of Israel, 
the Jewish Church being in so many respects 
typical of the Christian. The appointing of one 
for each tribe, Levi included, might intimate that 
henceforth the tribe of Levi and the family of 
Aaron had lost their exclusive sacerdotal privi- 
leges. The priesthood was now for ever merged 
in Christ, the great high priest of our profession. 
The Christian ministry, the message of reconcili- 
ation, the pastoral oversight of Christ's flock, was 
now to be open to all whom the Lord would call, 
of every tribe and family. But when the little 



156 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

company of Christ's faithful ones were gathered 
in the upper room, waiting for his promise, there 
were but eleven Apostles. A sad vacancy had 
occurred in the number. One of the chosen band 
had proved a traitor and a reprobate. The Apos- 
tle Peter proposes to his brethren present to fill 
this vacancy. In doing this, he refers briefly to 
the treachery and lamentable end of Judas. And 
he adduces certain prophetic passages from the 
Psalms, showing that this sad defection was not 
unnoticed by the Scriptures. The clear and un- 
hesitating manner in which he applies these pre- 
dictions shows that he was speaking from no pri- 
vate impulse, but by divine direction and gui- 
dance. With a clearness and power before un- 
known to him, he interprets the word of God. and 
counsels the infant Church in this emergency. 
Had Peter consulted his own feelings, we may 
well suppose that he would have shrunk from al- 
lusion to this awful subject. What but divine 
grace had made him to differ from his unhappy 
brother ? Had not both fallen ? And to mark 
them, at the moment when the denial with its im- 
pious execrations proceeded from Peter's mouth, 
would it not seem that both had fallen alike low 
and irrecoverably ? Yet of these two sinning 
Apostles, the one hath repented and found mercy. 
The other hath died in his sin, and gone to his 
own place. In either case, the sin was followed 



& 



PENTECOST. - 157 

by bitter grief, But the grief of the one was that 
"godly sorrow, that worketh repentance unto sal- 
vation, not to be repented of." The grief of the 
other was " the sorrow of the world that worketh 
death." In the one case, the great burden was 
the sense of ingratitude and unkindness to a mer- 
ciful Saviour. In the other, the soul was tor- 
mented with agonizing remorse, unmingled with 
any emotions of love or trust. Judas was torn 
by such unquiet passions and frightful apprehen- 
sions, as goad and rend the apostate angels. The 
reward of iniquity is loathed, his accomplices 
hated — his own conduct overwhelms him with 
shame and agony. But he dares not go to the 
throne of grace. He hag no heart to pray. His 
heart is still full of hatred and opposition to God, 
unhumbled and unchanged. The penitent Peter 
goes back to the company of his brethren, ready 
to hail with them his risen Master. The wretched 
but impenitent Judas puts an end, by his own 
hands, to his miserable life. 

Oh, brethren, sin brings us all to one level, in- 
volves us all in one condemnation, exposes us all to 
one doom. True evangelical repentance, a heart- 
felt renunciation and confession of our wickedness, 
a godly sorrow, earnest supplication, looking in 
faith unto Jesus crucified, makes the great differ- 
ence in our end, and saves us from the bitter pains 
of eternal death. Sin must be remembered and 



158 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

mourned, for " at the last it biteth like a serpent 
and stingeth like an adder/' Shall we mourn for 
sin like penitent Peter, or like wretched Judas ? 
Shall we repent and find mercy from God, or shall 
we depart hence burdened by the mountain weight 
of unforgiven sin, lashed by keen remorse, pierced 
by the scorpion sting of once cherished iniquities, 
having no hope and without God? Deeply, we 
should think, must Peter have felt his indebtedness 
to the grace and mercy of God, while proposing 
the choice of another in Judas' room. But for 
that undeserved mercy the case had been his own, 
and the brethren had been consulting to fill his 
vacant office in the Church. And perhaps he was 
singled out to move in tjiis matter, in order to im- 
press more deeply on himself the wonder of his 
own preservation. And let every example of stub- 
born impenitence, and hopeless death affect in like 
manner the Christian's heart, with that undeserved 
love and grace which plucked his own feet out of 
the net and rescued him from the abyss of des- 
truction. 

Soon after the completion of the Apostolic 
college by the election of Matthias, the great long- 
promised outpouring of the Spirit was vouch- 
safed. As Jesus was crucified at one Jewish 
feast, the Passover ; so was he glorified by the 
descent of the Holy Ghost at another. At Pente- 
cost, so called because it was the 50th day after 



PENTECOST, 159 

the Passover, Israel had commemorated for 1,500 
years the giving of the Law at Sinai, and had of* 
fered the first fruits of their land to Jehovah. 
Now the Gospel was to be sounded forth from 
Mount Zion, and the first fruits of that Gospel 
were to be plucked and consecrated a living sacri- 
fice unto the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. And as Jesus rose on the first day of the 
week, thereby affixing to it a sacredness that 
eclipsed the former hallowed Sabbath, and made 
it emphatically "the Lord's day;" so the Holy 
Spirit would own the same blessed day as his 
chosen time of descent upon the Lord's gathered 
people. " And when the day of Pentecost was 
fully come, they were all with one accord in one 
place. And suddenly there came a sound from 
heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled 
all the house where they were sitting. And there 
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, 
and it sat upon each of them. And they were all 
filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak 
with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utter- 
ance." 

In considering this Pentecostal effusion of the 
Spirit, it is important for us to bear in mind the 
plain and wide distinction between the extraor- 
dinary, miraculous gifts of the third person of the 
blessed Trinity, and those less observable, but 
still more precious influences, which convert, 



160 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

sanctify, and purify the soul. The Comforter, once 
bestowed upon the Church, was never to be finally 
withdrawn. He was to carry onward the work 
of Christ, accompanying and blessing the dispen- 
sation of the Gospel, turning the hearts of the dis- 
obedient to the wisdom of the just, infusing holi- 
ness into the heirs of salvation, and training them 
for the heavenly inheritance, until the Lord Jesus 
shall be again revealed in power and great glory. 
But those miraculous powers, which were so im- 
portant at the first promulgation of the Gospel, 
were to continue but for a limited period, and to 
be withdrawn as soon as their purpose was effect- 
ed. After the Church of Christ w 7 as once estab- 
lished upon earth, the Spirit withdrew those su- 
pernatural gifts which invested with such lustre 
the first heralds of the cross. The knowledge 
from immediate inspiration of other languages, the 
power to heal the sick, and even to raise the dead, 
were no longer required for the extension of the 
truth, and therefore werg no longer bestowed. 
The great effusion of these w 7 ondrous endowments 
was at Pentecost. It was betokened by the sound 
from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind; by the 
lambent flames, like cloven tongues, resting upon 
the Apostles' heads ; and by their instant capacity 
of speaking in languages of which they were be- 
fore utterly ignorant. It is evident that no 
such demonstrations are now accorded to the" 



PEXTECOST. 161 

Church. And therefore, in many points, Pente- 
cost was not to be a pattern, to later ages, of spi- 
ritual gifts. Pretences to such marvels, at the 
present day, are the fruit of enthusiastic delusion, 
or of intentional fraud. We are only warranted 
now to expect the descending Spirit in si- 
lent, solemn impressions upon the soul ; opening 
the heart, as he did that of Lydia, to attend to 
the preached gospel ; convincing of sin, as he did 
the assembled thousands, who at Pentecost heark- 
ened to the word of Christ ; enkindling- a spirit of 
prayer and supplication ; making the heart feel its 
need of a Saviour, and inclining it to believe that 
Saviour's promise, and to trust in his mercy. " The 
kingdom of God cometh not with observation; — 
neither shall they say, Lo here ! or, lo there ! for 
the kingdom of God is within you." We are not 
to listen now for the sound of the rushing mighty 
wind, or to look for cloven tongues of fire, or to 
fancy that the Spirit hath his way in the whirl- 
wind and the storm of passionate excitement. 
" Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabit- 
eth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the 
high and holy place, with him also that is of a 
contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of 
the humble, and to revive the heart of the con- 
trite ones."* Ye that really desire the blessed 

* Isaiah lvii. 15. 



162 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

and saving influences of the heavenly Comforter, 
" Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, 
knock and it shall be opened unto you." " Re- 
ceive with meekness the engrafted word, which 
is able to save your souls." " Commune with 
your own heart, and in your chamber, and be 
still." The tumult of the crowd, and sympathy 
with surrounding excitement cannot be a safe 
substitute for the lifting up of the soul to God 
in secret ; for the diligent study of his holy word ; 
the calling of sin to remembrance in the hour of 
retirement ; for contrite confession ; and earnest 
improvement of the divinely appointed means of 
grace. The Holy Spirit of God, beloved, is not 
far from every one of us. He is ever ready to 
bless the word of Christ, and to make it the 
power of God unto the salvation of them that be- 
lieve. Sin not against the Holy Ghost by repel- 
ling him from your soul ; quenching his influence ; 
hardening yourself against his still small voice ; 
undervaluing those precious means of salvation 
which he hath abundantly bestowed, and which he 
hath promised to make effectual. But if you 
slight his gentle solicitations, and refuse to hearken 
to his pleadings, look for no miracle of grace, no 
whirlwind or earthquake, no rending of the hea- 
vens, no Pentecostal flames, to overcome your 
stubbornness, and translate you into the kingdom 
of grace. 



PENTECOST. 163 

As soon as the tidings of the wondrous 
event had spread through the city, and the in- 
habitants, as well as foreign Jews, from all 
parts of the Roman empire, whom the feast had 
drawn together at this time, had congregrated in 
eager haste ; the Apostles, under the mighty divine 
influence which rested upon them, applied them- 
selves at once to their great work. The strangers 
from different and distant lands, heard, each in his 
own native tongue, the wonderful works of God. 
The astonishment produced by hearing these ap- 
parently rude Galileans, discoursing with such 
fluency and power in these divers languages, ad- 
ded vast weight to the subject upon which they 
spake. The hand of God was manifest. A deep 
awe settled upon the crowd, and with a fixed at- 
tention they gave audience to these strange tid- 
ings so wonderfully attested, so deeply interesting. 
Of the discourses delivered on that occasion, one, 
that of Peter, hath been preserved. On this ac- 
count, the whole fruits of that day's labors are 
sometimes attributed to this one Apostle, and to 
this one sermon. For this idea, however, there is 
no foundation. All the Apostles were undoubted- 
ly engaged in the same way, and the labors of all 
conduced to the result. One reason why the 
Apostle Peter is so prominent in the narrative, is, 
probably, attributable to the fact that he addres- 
sed the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the Syriac, — 



164 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

their own tongue ; while the others were mak- 
ing known to different audiences of the foreign 
Jews, in their peculiar languages, the same great 
truths. 

No doubt, however, Peter was most conspicu- 
ous on this occasion, throwing himself with all 
the zeal and energy natural to him into the great 
work, and baptized abundantly with the Holy 
Ghost and with power. We cannot but regard 
with curiosity, the exposition of divine truth 
which he delivered, and the appeals which he ut- 
tered on so memorable and interesting an occa- 
sion. What manner of sermon must that have 
been which forced conviction on so many con- 
sciences, and brought so many hearers to cry for 
mercy ? 

But, if we come to its examination with high 
raised expectations of being thrilled with sublime 
strains of eloquence, or startled by vehement im- 
passioned appeals, or melted by deep pathos, or 
carried away by the torrent of fervid feeling, we 
shall be disappointed. The discourse contains 
none of the fire of oratory, or of the beauties of 
rhetoric. It is a plain, sober, faithful, pointed ex- 
position of the truth, wholly devoid of pretension 
and art. Many a critical and fastidious audience 
of the present day would pronounce such a ser- 
mon tame and dull, and wonder that it should 
produce the slightest effect. But the excellency 



PENTECOST. 165 

of the power was evidently of God, and not of man. 
And if we ask, to what Peter's sermon owed its 
mighty effect, the answer must be, to the Holy 
Ghost. 

1. The Apostle's discourse was plain and sim- 
ple. It was level to the capacities of his humblest 
hearers. While it was entirely grave, dignified, 
and worthy of the greatness of the theme, free 
from all familiarity or degrading attempts to suit 
the popular taste, it was embodied in language 
that no attentive hearer could fail to compre- 
hend. 

2. It was eminently a scriptural sermon, full of 
quotations from the Old Testament. Not less 
than one-half of the discourse is thus quoted. 
The Apostle, speaking to his Jewish brethren, rea- 
sons with them out of the Scriptures. His object is 
to show that Jesus of Nazareth is the very Mes- 
siah foretold by their prophets, and that these are 
the times which their holy men had so long de- 
sired, and waited for. 

3. It was a sermon full of Christ. The 
Apostle has no sooner replied to the absurd 
calumny to which himself and his brethren had 
been exposed, and vindicated the reality of this 
effusion of the Holy Spirit by a reference to the 
prophet Joel ; than he at once introduces his Sa- 
viour ; refers to their own knowledge of his life 
and miracles ; describes his crucifixion as taking 



166 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

place through God's determinate counsel and 
foreknowledge, while yet effected by wicked hands ; 
and positively asserts his resurrection from the 
dead, and exaltation as Lord of all to the right 
hand of Jehovah. Peter is forgotten in the ser- 
mon. Nothing of himself there. But Christ is 
the great theme. 

4. It was a bold and faithful sermon. Pe- 
ter stood up amid the same crowd, who, a few 
weeks before, had hurried his Master to Calvary, 
with fierce and savage cries, "Away with him, 
crucify him ;" and yet he does not hesitate to 
charge them with their flagrant guilt in de- 
cided, uncompromising terms. "Him ye have 
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and 
slain/' " Therefore, let all the house of Israel 
know assuredly, that God hath made that same 
Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and 
Christ." 

5. It was an earnest sermon. The power 
of living reality breathed throughout. " With 
many other words did he testify and exhort, say- 
ing, Save yourselves from this untoward genera- 
tion." All that heard him were impressed with 
the honesty and sincerity of the man. He was 
evidently himself persuaded of the truth of what 
he said. And the conviction of that truth darted 
from the speaker to the hearers. They began to 
realize the imminence of their danger. They, 



PENTECOST. 167 

too, became earnest to escape the deserved con- 
demnation. " Now, when they heard this, they 
were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter 
and to the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren, 
what shall we do ?" What a recompense of these 
first Apostolic labors, to hear this inquiry from the 
depth of anxious hearts ? What music to their 
ears, what joy to their hearts, unto whom hath 
been committed the dispensation of the Gospel, 
when applied to by their awakened hearers for in- 
struction in the way of salvation ? The reward 
which the true minister of Christ desires, is not 
the voice of flattering commendation, but the 
earnest question, " What must I do to be saved ?" 
" How shall I secure for my own soul an interest 
in Jesus' cross, and Jesus' kingdom ? How shall 
I obtain forgiveness of sin, and the aid of God's 
Holy Spirit ? How shall I escape the dreadful 
consequences of unpardoned guilt, and secure a 
share in the exceeding great and precious promises 
of the everlasting Gospel ?" When this all-im- 
portant question is seriously and earnestly put, 
we recognize the working of the blessed Spirit, 
we thank God, and take courage. But, let all, to 
whom the inquirer for salvation applies, take heed 
that they answer the question as Peter answered 
it. " Repent, and be baptized, every one of you, 
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of 
sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 



168 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Ghost. " We cannot go beyond the word of the 
Lord, to say less or more. We cannot sunder 
what he has joined together. We also must in- 
sist on true repentance, a change of mind, a new 
heart, godly sorrow, an unfeigned confession of 
sin, and trusting faith in Jesus Christ. And no 
less must we insist upon the open confession of 
Christ before men, sincere participation in his ap- 
pointed sacraments, and upon visible union with 
his Church. Serious and awful is their responsi- 
bility who give different counsel to inquiring souls, 
from that given in the day of Pentecost by in- 
spired Apostles, whose heads were yet radiant 
with the mystic flames, and who spake as the 
Spirit gave them utterance. 

We have said, brethren, that the Holy Ghost 
is still present to bless the word of reconciliation. 
When the truth, as it is in Jesus, is presented to 
you as it was in Peter's sermon, simply and intel- 
ligibly, scripturally, faithfully and earnestly, then 
are the same agencies brought to bear on you, 
which led such multitudes at Pentecost to the Sa- 
viour's feet. Have you ever been pricked to the 
heart by the sense of your own sin, your ingrati- 
tude to Jesus crucified, your soul's worth, pre- 
ciousness and danger ? Have you ever gone to 
the ministers of the Lord below, and to the Lord 
himself on his mercy-seat above, with the ques- 
tion that burst from so many lips, on that memo- 



PENTECOST. 169 

rable day ? It is not to be supposed that God will 
do more for you than this, and if still unmoved 
and impenitent, what must be the issue ? " If 
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither 
will they be persuaded though one rose from the 
dead." 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMON IN 
THE TEMPLE. 



ACTS III. 1. 

" Now Peter and John went up together into the temple, at the 
hour of prayer, being the ninth hour." 

After the offering up of the true Paschal 
Lamb upon the cross, the temple worship and 
Jewish ritual had fulfilled their object. The sha- 
dows of good things must now pass away, the 
substance being come. The Almighty now no 
longer regarded the temple on Mount Moriah as 
his house. The victims might bleed, the incense 
might burn, the priests might go through the pre- 
scribed offices, but the Lord was not in his holy 
temple. Soon would that venerable and costly 
pile, deserted already by its divine guardian, be 
razed to the foundation, and not one stone left 
upon another. 

But there intervened a space of about forty 
years between the pronouncing and execution of 
the sentence, upon city and temple. And many 
disciples of Christ, Jews by birthright, and strong- 
ly attached, like their countrymen, to the worship 
and usages of their fathers, continued during this 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMON. 171 

period, devoutly to observe the duties of their na- 
tional religion. While they had their own assem- 
blies for prayer and praise, and preaching of the 
riches of Christ ; they also took part in the solem- 
nities of the temple service. They loved the 
gates of Zion. Their new discovery of the Mes- 
siah by no means made them indifferent to the ap- 
pointed holy rites and times. They united in 
their observance with increased interest, as well 
as augmented knowledge. Amid the crowd of 
their formal and bigoted countrymen, they wor- 
shipped God in spirit and in truth. While the 
multitude looked not beyond the outward and vi- 
sible, they discovered the hidden meaning and 
beauty of these types and emblems. The bleed- 
ing sacrifice presented to their faith the Lamb of 
God and the incense-burning priest ; exhibited 
their great High Priest and Intercessor above. 
The gospel's radiance illumined the darkness and 
obscurity of the ancient ritual, and Christ was ap- 
parent in every holy form and act. It is the same 
spirit of faith, the same looking unto Jesus, 
brethren, that must give life, interest, and enjoy- 
ment to the simpler worship of the Christian sanc- 
tuary. When we really seek the favor and bless- 
ing of our God and Father, when his word and 
promise are sweet to our taste, when we look 
not at the things which are seen, but at the things 
which are unseen, when we hunger for the bread 



172 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

of life, and thirst for the living water, then will a 
day in the Lord's courts be better to us than a thou- 
sand. Where there is no interest and no pleasure 
in the solemn worship of God's temple, there is 
great reason to fear that the spirit of grace and 
supplication is wanting. Immediately after the 
Pentecostal effusion of the Holy Ghost, we read 
of Apostles going up to the temple at the hour of 
prayer. 

Peter and John went up together to the tem- 
ple. We find them often together. And hence 
we may infer that they were bosom friends. Their 
united attendance upon Jesus had bound them to 
each other in a holy and disinterested affection. 
And yet there would seem in their dispositions a 
marked contrast — the one gentle and mild, the 
other decided, energetic and ardent. Yet these 
peculiarities, under the influence of the Holy 
Spirit, made them, perhaps, the more to delight in 
each others society. The true basis of enduring 
and profitable friendship, is a common interest in 
our Lord Jesus Christ. They who truly love the 
Saviour, love that Saviour's image reflected by his 
genuine disciples. If we are Christ's, Christ will 
be dear to us in his people. Such friendship will 
be proof against those jealousies, suspicions, and 
evil surmisings, that so oft and so fatally interrupt 
mere earthly attachments. Unsanctified love 
easily cools into indifference, or changes into aver- 



THE MIRACLE AXD SERMON. 173 

sion. But Christian friendship expects to survive 
the tomb, and to rekindle its hallowed torch at 
the celestial altar. And, therefore, it beareth all 
things, and beiieveth all things, during the pass- 
age through the wilderness to that better country. 
Full of comfort and strength it is to those who 
pursue together the ways of pleasantness. " Peace 
be within thy walls," Zion of God, " and prospefi* 
ty within thy palaces. For my brethren and com- 
panions' sakes, I will now say, Peace be within 
thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God, 
I will seek thy good." 

As Peter and John took sweet counsel together 
and went up to the house of God as friends, they 
encounter a strong appeal to their sympathies. 
At the threshhold of that gorgeous and magnificent 
portal, added by Herod to the temple, and known 
as the Beautiful Gate, there lies a helpless cripple, 
lame from his birth, dependent for his daily bread 
on the alms of the charitable, who passed him on 
their way to worship. Well understanding the con- 
nection between devotion, and acts of sympathy and 
kindness to the poor and suffering, a connection so 
often recognized in the Scriptures, he chooses 
this as the fittest time and place for soliciting the 
aid which his infirmities made necessary. When 
he addresses his customary pleadings to the Apos- 
tles, he is bidden by Peter to look on them. There 
hath sprung up in the Apostle's breast the con- 

9 



174 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

viction, that this is a fit occasion of exercising 
those miraculous powers wherewith their Lord 
had promised to endue them. The impotent man 
looks up to them with earnest gaze, expecting the 
usual benefaction. " Then Peter said, Silver and 
gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee : 
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up, 
and w r alk." Silver and gold may greatly assist 
and benefit our suffering fellow-creatures, and our 
alms should be proportionate to our means, if we 
expect God's blessing on our own substance or in- 
dustry. But there are benefactions more precious 
than silver and gold. They who have notw r ealth 
to dispense, may sometimes bestow what is far 
better. If we can impart to a fellow-sinner on 
his way to judgment and eternity, the knowledge 
of Jesus Christ ; if we can direct the weary and 
heavy laden to him who giveth rest ; if we can 
point the anxious and desponding to the Lamb of 
God ; if we can remove the perplexities of the 
doubting, calm the fears of the distressed, soothe 
the sorrows of the afflicted, and minister to the 
mind diseased, we are conferring a far richer and 
more lasting benefit than any temporal aid that 
can be imparted. The poorest Christian may have 
thus the power of communicating the most bless- 
ed of all gifts, for God makes his people his own 
instruments both in relieving bodily want, and in 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMON. 175 

instructing, guiding, comforting, and saving the 
immortal soul. 

The working of this miracle was a signal indi- 
cation of Peter's faith. To have failed in such an 
attempt, in so public a place, would have exposed 
him and his cause to derision, and overwhelmed 
him with confusion. This was their first essay, 
since their Lord's departure, to perform those 
wonders which they had been wont to witness in 
him. But the Apostle's faith w r as strong in that 
name of power which he was warranted to use. 
He speaks w T ith unhesitating confidence. He ven- 
tures his whole reputation upon the instant per- 
formance of an astonishing miracle. Unless this 
cripple from his birth, apparently doomed to de- 
crepitude all his days, rise at once in full 
strength and vigor from the ground, Peter stands 
before his countrymen a detected impostor. In- 
famy and scorn will be his portion, and the cause 
to which he hath devoted his life is ruined. In 
order to estimate the degree of faith required in 
the performance of the miracles recorded in Scrip- 
ture, we must put ourselves in the place of those 
by whom they were wrought. We must consider 
what would have been the consequence of failure. 
We must remember the publicity attendant on 
these acts. They were not done in a corner. The 
subjects of them were not strangers, or unknown 
persons. They were individuals with whom mul- 



176 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

titudes were acquainted, and the cures were per- 
formed in the midst of interested and vigilant 
bystanders. There was every disposition to scru- 
tinize the matter, to probe it to the utmost, to ex- 
amine the circumstances, and to detect artifice 
and collusion if they existed. The subject of the 
present narrative was well known to the worship- 
pers in the temple. They were accustomed to 
see him lie at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, 
and often had bestowed upon him their alms. His 
incurable lameness was notorious. In this public 
place, while at the appointed hour of evening 
prayer, numbers were passing into the temple, 
Peter spake to the beggar in a tone of authority. 
He mentions a name, which the priests and rulers 
of that consecrated house had sought to brand 
with infamy, and consign to perpetual disgrace ; a 
name which had probably, since the Saviour's ap- 
prehension and crucifixion, been only repeated 
there in hatred and contempt. " In the name of 
Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. And 
immediately his feet and ancle bones received 
strength. And he leaping up, stood, and walked, 
and entered with them into the temple, walking, 
and leaping, and praising God." A mighty power 
accompanied that rejected name. The withered 
and useless limbs of the impotent man confessed 
its potency. An unexpected strength nerves the 
feet that never had walked, and the restored crip- 



THE MIRACLE AXD SERMON. 



177 



pie now exults in the possession of his new facul- 
ties, and hastens to use them bv accompanvincr 
his deliverers into the house of God. 

The gift of miracles, as well as of tongues, hath 
been withdrawn from the Church, being no longer 
required after the Gospel has been widely promul- 
gated and the Church firmly established, and there- 
fore no such visible wonders are now wrought, or 
expected to be wrought by the name of Jesus. Yet 
has not that name lost its power. It is in the same 
great name that we preach repentance and salva- 
tion ; and all who are walking in the light of God's 
countenance, justified freely by his grace, and 
ripening for his kingdom, know its divine might. 
It is a power accompanying that name which 
opens the blind eyes, melts the stubborn heart, con- 
verts the sinner from the error of his ways, and 
saves the soul from death. It is a name effectual 
to comfort the sorrowful, and to bind up the 
broken-hearted. It can fill the bereaved mourner 
with sweet acquiescence, and Sight up the dying 
eye with hope. When that name is breathed in 
earnest prayer and supplication, it pierces the 
very skies, it opens the windows of heaven, and 
blessings are poured down, more than we can ask 
or think. Gocl hears it with complacency and 
delight, and the petitions that would else be pre- 
sumptuous and hopeless, are thus made accepta- 
ble and well pleasing in his sight. 



178 LIFE OF THE xVPOSTLE PETER. 

the Redeemer, " what ye will, in my name, and it 
shall be given you/' And let us learn from the 
Apostle's bold venture on the occasion of this 
cure, a lesson of implicit confidence ; and when 
w 7 e pray, let us ask in faith, nothing wavering. 
Believing prayer will be answered, and if not an- 
swered in the precise way, and at the very time 
that we expect, will be so in a still better way 
and at a still fitter time. 

The miracle wrought at an hour and place so 
public, excited, as might be supposed, great atten- 
tion and curiosity. " All the people saw him 
walking and praising God : and they knew that it 
was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate 
of the temple : and they were filled with wonder 
and amazement at that which had happened unto 
him. And as the lame man which was healed 
held Peter and John, all the people ran together 
unto them, into the porch that is called Solomon's, 
greatly wondering." The Apostles perceive at 
once that this is a favorable moment for entering 
on their great work, as Christ's ambassadors. The 
curious and wondering; crowd are in a state to 
hearken respectfully to the performers of so won- 
derful an act, and to give audience to their own 
explanation of it. Peter, therefore, proceeds im- 
mediately to improve this propitious time, and to 
speak a word in season. The place and the cir- 
cumstances were such as to heighten the interest 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMON. 179 

of his discourse, la this very porch of Solomon, 
had the Saviour, whom he was now about to pro- 
claim as the Christ of God, often stood, and rea- 
soned with the Scribes, and spoken as never man 
spake. In this house, consecrated to the worship 
of Israel's God, was now for the first time the 
gospel of a risen Jesus, to be published. And the 
ears of many were now opened to drink in with 
fixed attention, its saving truths. 

While this, the Apostle's second sermon, re- 
sembled greatly that which he delivered on the 
day of Pentecost, there were also points of differ- 
ence. The burden of his message was the same, 
for he preached Jesus and the resurrection. This 
is a theme of which the Christian minister must 
never tire, and of which the Christian hearer 
should never grow weary. Xo love of novelty, 
or desire to interest and attract the curious, must 
lead us away from the great and glorious subject. 
We proclaim to dying sinners a Saviour's grace. 
" We preach Christ crucified." And while the 
proper exhibition and illustration of our great 
theme admits of aid and light from the different 
branches of knowledge, and should be presented 
with scriptural fulness, under various aspects, and 
with multiform arguments and motives, yet we 
must never lose sight of the cardinal object, the 
lifting up of Jesus. Our business is not to amuse 
the curious, nor entertain the lovers of novelty 



ISO LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

and excitement, but to repeat, with unwearied zeal, 
the story of redeeming love, and make known with 
all plainness, those great and precious truths, 
which to believe, and receive, and obey, is salva- 
tion. We deal with men on subjects too solemn 
and important to excuse trifling or vanity. " Un- 
to some we are a savor of life unto life, and unto 
some a savor of death unto death : and who is 
sufficient for these things ?" If we do you good, 
it will be by God's blessing on the truth as it is in 
Jesus. And, therefore, like the Apostles of Christ, 
we must be ever going back to the cross and the 
tomb, and setting forth Him, who is " The way, 
the truth, and the life." The Apostle begins with 
an earnest disclaimer of any homage as due to 
himself, on account of this miracle. " Ye men of 
Israel, why marvel ye at this ; or why look ye so 
earnestly on us, as though by our own power and 
holiness we had this man to walk ?" With a holy 
jealousy for his Pilaster's honor, he cannot for a 
moment suffer the reputation of this work to be 
ascribed to himself and his fellow Apostle. He 
hastens to undeceive those who were disposed to 
look upon them with reverence and awe, as the 
real workers of the marvel, and directs their 
nraises altogether to his Lord. If anv good is 
done in Jesus' name, it becomes us to be alike jeal- 
ous of his peculiar glory, and to beware how the 
mortal instrument is put in the place of the Lord 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMOK 181 

of all power and might. It is a dreadful intrusion 
on the prerogatives of Christ, when the servant 
seeks his own glory, rather than his who sent him. 
The Apostle then refers his hearers to the exalted 
giver of all grace. He presents to them Jesus, as 
the Son of the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of 
Jacob, the God of their fathers ; and he presses 
home upon their consciences the charge of guilt, 
with a boldness and energv exceeding; that even 
manifested in his Pentecostal sermon. " Ye de- 
nied the Holy One and the just, and desired a 
murderer to be granted unto you ; and killed the 
Prince of Life." Here is revealed to their startled 
minds, the amazing guilt of that hour of madness 
when they cried before the tribunal of Pilate, 
" Not this man, but Barabbas." Now they are 
made to see the dreadful blasphemy of that impi- 
ous choice. To their own Messiah, the Son of 
the living God, they had preferred the basest and 
vilest of men. They had rejected the Prince of 
life, and desired as a boon that a destroyer of life, 
a murderer, should be granted unto them. Yet, 
while the Apostle discovers to them the nature 
of the choice made in their unhallowed frenzy, he 
•holds out to them the hope of forgiveness. He 
kindly anticipates the plea that some might ven- 
ture to urge, that it was in ignorance of the divine 
character and claims of Jesus they had acted. 
This ignorance, indeed, was itself a sin. They 
9* 



182 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

might have known that Jesus was the Messiah. 
There was evidence enough to satisfy every 
honest mind, to convince eveiy sincere enquirer 
into the truth. But the Apostle was far from 
wishing to drive them to despair. While he urged 
upon them their grievous wickedness, in direct, 
uncompromising terms, he opened the door wide 
for their return. He addressed sinners ; and he 
must make them feel their guilt ; but his message 
was one of grace and love. The burden of our 
preaching, brethren, is of God in Christ, reconcil- 
ing the world unto himself. It is of mercy, not 
of wrath. True, we must warn the wicked of his 
guilt and danger. We must charge upon the con- 
science many and flagrant violations of the law of 
God. Especially must we urge the gravest of all 
God's controversies, the unholy contempt of 
his dear Son. We must show the folly and the 
wickedness of preferring such vain and worthless 
objects, as engross many hearts to the exclusion of 
a crucified Saviour. But we would convince the 
soul of its misery and ruin, that it may value 
that Saviour's grace. " Knowing the terrors of the 
Lord we persuade men :" persuade them to enter 
the refuge, to embrace the hope set before them. 
The trumpet note of approaching judgment is in- 
tended to render precious in the eyes of dying 
men, the grace of him who saveth to the utter- 
most. The Apostle, therefore, goes on thus to 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMON. 183 

address his trembling and downcast hearers, just 
awakened to a sense of the inexcusable vileness 
of their past conduct. " Repent ye, thererefore, 
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted 
out." He reminds them that they are " the chil- 
dren of the prophets, and of the covenant w T hich 
God made with the fathers, saying unto Abraham, 
And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth 
be blessed/' And he solemnly assures them that 
"God, having raised up his Son Jesus, had sent 
him first unto them, to bless them, in turning away 
every one of them from his iniquities." Thus 
was the risen Jesus lifted up as a Saviour, the 
very Saviour foretold by all the prophets, a Sa- 
viour from sin as well as wrath. Repentance 
and conversion, a real turning from sin to holi- 
ness, a cordial acceptance of their Messiah, were 
proposed to them as the conditions of mercy. 
Thus, turning to him whom they had rejected, 
their sins, grievous and hateful as they were, 
would be blotted out, and abounding mercy would 
erase them from the book of God's remembrance. 
While the Apostle, in this discourse, exhorted 
them to repentance, that they might, individually, 
obtain forgiveness and salvation, he also urges 
upon them collectively, the same duties, in order 
to secure the blessing of the Almighty as a peo- 
ple. In this temple, whither the heart of every 
Jew turned with such reverence and devotion, and 



184 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

with this multitude of his countrymen around him, 
he seemed to be addressing Israel as a nation. 
His heart beat high with hope, that the whole 
people would now look with faith and reverence 
upon him whom they had pierced, and by bowing 
before him as one man, bring on that blessed era 
of Messiah's triumph, of w T hich the prophets had 
spoken in such glowing terms. " Repent ye, there- 
fore, and be converted, that your sins may be 
blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall 
come/' or rather, in order that times of refreshing 
may come " from the presence of the Lord ; and 
he shall send Jesus Christ, who before was preach- 
ed unto you : w r hom the heaven must receive, un- 
til the times of restitution of all things, which God 
had spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets, 
since the world began." When the Saviour was 
about to ascend from Olivet, the Apostles ask- 
ed him, " Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again 
the kingdom to Israel ?" His answer was, " It is 
not for you to know the times or the seasons, 
which the Father hath put in his own power." 
But although they were not to know the times 
and the seasons, they seem to have expected cer- 
tainly that the kingdom would be restored to Is- 
rael. The Apostle Peter here urges his country- 
men with one heart to embrace the gospel, in or- 
der to hasten on that period of future light and 
holiness. He seems to anticipate times of spiri- 



THE MIRACLE AND SERMON. 185 

tual refreshment to attend the ingathering of God's 
ancient people into his fold. This great event he 
evidently connects with another manifestation of 
Christ, and with that "restitution of all things/' to 
which the finger of prophecy had been pointing 
for so many ages. 

That blessed consummation, however, for 
which the Apostle's heart so yearned, was far 
more distant than he supposed. The times and 
the seasons, as his Saviour expressly affirmed, the 
Father had kept in his own power. Peter and his 
brethren had not been informed of them. The 
glorious visions of prophecy, even yet are not re- 
alized. Age after age hath passed, and century 
hath followed century, and still the arm of the 
Lord is not made bare. The veil is on the heart 
of Israel, and the times of restitution of all things 
are delayed ; for a thousand years are with the 
Lord as one day, and one day as a thousand years. 
Still the promise is Yea and Amen. " The word 
of the Lord abideth for ever." The times of re- 
freshing shall arrive from the presence of the 
Lord, and the kingdoms of this world shall be- 
come the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. 
" Yet a little while, and he that shall come, will 
come, and will not tarry." But while the bride- 
groom tarrieth, " Let us not sleep as do others, but 
let us watch and be sober." We are not author- 
ized to unfold the secret counsels of God, we 



186 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

" know not when the time is ;" but the great, era of 
a Saviour's triumph, nearer or more remote, va- 
ries not our duty. " Repent and be converted 
that your sins may be blotted out," is the voice 
that speaks to you. Until you repent and turn to 
God, your sin remaineth. You are -alike unpre- 
pared for the hour of death, or for the coming of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. No times of refreshing 
and consolation will come to your soul, until you 
bow as a penitent before the cross of Jesus. Oh, 
how great is that mercy which extends the offer 
of pardon to the guilty and condemned; which an- 
nexes it to conditions so simple and reasonable as 
repentance and conversion ; which imposes no 
harsh severities ; mocks tfs with no unattainable 
bliss; but brings salvation nigh, even to our very 
doors, and proclaims, " Turn, and ye shall live." 
Aye, even though like those to whom the Apostle 
spake, we have denied the Holy One and the just, 
though we have been guilty of preferring the 
world and its vanities, the flesh and its unholy 
passions, the tempter and his wiles, to Jesus Christ 
and his salvation, still the gracious assurance is 
addressed to us, " Repent and be converted, that 
your sins may be blotted out." 



THE ARRAIGNMENT BEFORE THE 
SANHEDRIM. 



ACTS IV. 13. 

jSow when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and per- 
ceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men. they marvelled ; 
and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." 

When our Saviour sent forth his twelve Apos- 
tles for the first time to do the work of evange- 
lists, it was with a plain and distinct warning of 
great opposition and persecution to be encoun- 
tered. '•' Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the 
midst of wolves : Be ye therefore wise as ser- 
pents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men : 
for they will deliver you up to the councils, and 
they will scourge you in their synagogues. And 
ye shall be brought before governors and kings for 
my sake, for a testimony against them and the 
Gentiles." The history of Christianity from the 
beginning is the best comment on these words. 
The event showed how true a prophet was the 
founder of this religion, and how perfectly open 
to his far-seeing eye was the whole progress of 
his Gospel. He concealed not from his disciples 
the trials and sacrifices, which their profession 



£> 



188 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

would cost them. He gave them to understand, 
that to serve and follow him would expose them 
to the most deadly hatred and bitter persecution. 
The apparently frail and helpless bark of his 
Church was to be launched forth into the midst of 
a stormy and agitated sea. It was to be buffeted 
by mighty tempests, and exposed to the whole 
fury of warring elements. Yet it held on its way. 
It rode securely over the surface of the boiling 
deep. It yielded not to the blast of the hurricane. 
And outliving the rude shocks to which it was ex- 
posed, it has been favored with smoother seas and 
gentler breezes, and shall at length gain the fair 
havens of eternal peace. But the advance of a 
faith so pure and unearthly in the face of such 
relentless hostility, and amid such tribulations and 
tempests, is evidence conclusive that it is not of 
man but of God. As in our last discourse upon 
the life of the Apostle Peter, we had before us the 
first miracle performed in the name of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, after his ascension, so we now come 
to the consideration of the first persecution which 
encountered the revived gospel. We are to notice 
the opening act of that course of violence and 
opposition, which went on deepening and growing, 
until the blood- of the saints flowed like water on 
every side, and no form of insult and torture, no 
ingenuity of cruelty and outrage that hell could 
invent was left untried How little do we realize, 



THE ARRAIGNMENT* 189 

brethren, the privilege that we enjoy in being 
permitted to worship God. according to the dic- 
tates of our own conscience and the teachings of 
his word, with none to molest or make us afraid '? 

The notoriety of the miraculous cure of the 
impotent man in the temple, and the attention ex- 
cited both by the work itself, and by the preach- 
ing of the Apostles, soon attracted the jealous 
notice of the men in authority. "And as they 
spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain 
of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 
being grieved that they taught the people, and 
preached through Jesus the resurrection from the 
dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them 
in hold unto the next day: for it was eventide.'*' 

Among those most active in this oppressive act 
are mentioned the Sadducees, the infidels of the 
day, men who denied any resurrection, or future 
state of rewards and punishments. Now it may 
at first seem strange, that men of this stamp 
should trouble themselves to interfere at all with 
this new religion. If they, in their superior wis- 
dom, knew it to be a mere delusion, and were per- 
fectly assured that ihd resurrection which was 
proclaimed was but a phantom, why should they 
not leave those who though _ntly to the free 

enjoyment of their own opinions ? Yet this is but 
a specimen of that persecuting spirit which infi- 
delity, where it has had the power, has been wont 



190 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

to exhibit. Unbelief is tolerant of every thing but 
true religion. But towards the truth it ever che- 
rishes a bitter hostility, which when opportunity 
is given is always ready to break forth. These 
Sadducees were grieved that the Apostles should 
preach through Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 
It is an unpleasant and painful thing to the sceptic 
to hear of those solemn eternal realities, that he 
has contemptuously rejected. In truth, the con- 
fidence of many of these men is far more in ap- 
pearance than in reality. While they declaim 
loudly against the scriptures, and the doctrines of 
the resurrection and the judgment, their hearts 
are often disquieted with fears and anxieties. 
They are desirous of making proselytes to their 
own opinions, in order to drive away their appre- 
hensions and confirm themselves in unbelief. And 
the progress and power of true Christianity are a 
grief and torment to them, because fitted to re- 
vive these fears, and disturb thpir desired security. 
The day following the seizure of Peter and 
John witnessed their arraignment before the San- 
hedrim, or great council of the nation. To an 
humble Israelite, there could be no earthly assem- 
bly so imposing and august as this. There sat 
the anointed High Priest in his robes of office, the 
religious head of the nation. There were gather- 
ed the nearest of kin and most eminent of the 
priestly family, there the honored teachers of the 



THE ARRAIGNMENT. 191 

Law, the men most had in reverence for station, 
learning, and sanctity. Before so venerable a 
body, an ordinary Jew would be abashed and 
overcome. And it was doubtless the expectation 
of those in authority that such would be the awe 
produced upon Peter and John, that they would 
readily make any submission and consent to any 
conditions that might be exacted of them. 

Before this assembly the Apostles are now 
conducted. "And when they had set them in the 
midst, they asked, by what power or by what name 
have ye done this? Then Peter, filled with the 
Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the peo- 
ple, and elders of Israel : If we this day be ex- 
amined of the good deed done to the impotent 
man, by what means he is made whole ; Be it 
known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, 
that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the 
dead, even by him doth this man stand here before 
you whole. This is the stone which was set at 
naught of you builders, which is become the 
head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in 
any other, for there is none other name under 
heaven given among men whereby we must be 
saved/' " Can it be," we are ready to exclaim, 
as we hear this firm unshrinking testimony for 
Jesus of Nazareth, made to the very face of the 
men who a short time before gave him up to an 



192 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

ignominious death, "can it be that this is the same 
Peter, who then denied that very Jesus? Is this 
undaunted confessor the man who then trembled 
at the look and voice of a maid-servant, who 
shrank so terrified from the suspicion of disciple- 
ship, whose disclaimers of any knowledge of the 
prisoner at the bar were so vehement and re- 
peated, who in order to escape detection added 
oaths and curses to his base falsehood?" Now he 
stands before the very rulers w T hose displeasure he 
then so greatly feared — he stands arraigned as the 
principal offender and not merely as an accessary. 
He confronts the very men whose hands are red 
with his Master's blood, and whose implacable 
enmity against his name and doctrine he perfectly 
understood. And yet how calm and fearless his 
bearing now! Not a shadow of apprehension on 
his countenance, not a glance of timidity or alarm. 
His limbs tremble not. His tongue falters not. 
With becoming modesty of deportment, but with- 
out a moment's hesitation, he declares truths that 
must pierce his judges to the quick. Alike re- 
moved from insolent defiance and from unmanly 
terror, he speaks with a calmness, a boldness, a 
directness and pungency that his hearers little ex- 
pected. The man, whom the rulers of Israel 
thought so easily to browbeat and silence, by the 
mere show of authority and the utterance of 
threats, stands before them with unmoved com- 



THE ARRAIGNMENT, 193 

posure, and deliberately charges them with a most 
atrocious crime, even the murder of their long 
expected Messiah. They who had met together 
in order to convict and punish the teachers of 
a new and erroneous doctrine, find themselves 
charged with the blackest guilt. The tables seem 
to be turned, and the position of the parties 
strangely and unexpectedly reversed. Who are 
the trembling culprits, the convicted criminals 
now ? These two plain men of undaunted mien 
and fluent utterance, so firm, so calm, so deter- 
mined ? Or these men of official consequence, 
anointed priests, grave counsellors and admired 
Rabbins ? Can the robes of office conceal the 
tremor that agitates the frame, or the look of as- 
sumed indifference and pride dispel the anxiety 
and alarm that betray themselves in the counte- 
nance. They who had summoned despised Gali- 
leans to answer for an offence, are now them- 
selves bidden to answer for an offence infinitely 
more grave and heinous. The professed builders 
are charged with having rejected the very corner 
stone laid by God in Zion, and are further warn- 
ed that, spite of their rejection, it had become in- 
deed the head of the corner. 

To the Sanhedrim the firmness, composure and 
manly defence of the men before them appeared 
wholly unaccountable. "Now when they saw 
the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived 



194 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, 

that they were unlearned and ignorant men/' 
that is men of humble origin and private station, 
untaught in the schools of the Rabbins, and un- 
initiated into the dogmas of Pharisaism, " they 
marvelled." The intrepidity and composure of 
the faithful confessors of Christ, their ready de- 
fence of their faith in words few, simple, earnest, 
forcible, and penetrating, have in every age ex- 
torted similar surprise and admiration from their 
persecutors. On no principles of their own can 
the haughty oppressors account for the evident 
superiority and elevation of those arraigned be- 
fore them, for their indifference to danger and 
death, for their forgetfulness of self, for their 
prompt answers to ensnaring questions, and their 
powerful maintenance, in the most trying circum- 
stances, of the opinions imputed to them as a 
crime. But the Christian is at no loss to account 
for such deportment. He remembers that promise 
wherewith the Saviour accompanied his announce- 
ment of the future perils of his faithful servants: 
" But when they deliver you up, take no thought 
how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given 
you in that same hour, what ye shall speak. For 
it is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your 
Father which speaketh in you." " For I will give 
you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adver- 
saries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." 
Often and signally has this promise been verified. 






THE ARRAIG1MENT. 195 

Many a humble and obscure disciple of Jesus, 
dragged for his hope's sake to the bar of unjust 
judgment, has there maintained his Saviour's 
cause in a manner that plainly showed a more 
than human strength and wisdom. Placed in ex- 
tremist jeopardy, called suddenly to choose be- 
tween their faith and their life ; the timid have 
become bold, the shrinking have been confident, 
the untaught in human schools and unaccustomed 
to open their mouth in public, have vindicated 
their faith with an eloquence and a force that 
could not be gainsayed. Before the blood-stained 
tribunal of heathen power, amid the raging popu- 
lace clamorous for his destruction, in the conclave 
of persecutors, miscalling themselves Christian, 
and in the dread sepulchral vaults of the dark and 
fearful inquisition, the faithful witness for the truth 
as it is in Jesus has displayed the meekness, the 
composure, the intrepidity, the unanswerable 
wisdom that the Lord promised. No triumphs of 
Christianity evince more brightly its heavenly 
origin, and the divine might that accompanies it, 
than these fiery trials and fierce onslaughts of the 
powers of darkness. Well may ye marvel, ye men 
of assumed sanctity but real depravity, who now 
sit in Moses'* seat, well may ye marvel at the bold- 
ness, the firmness, the cogent arguments, the un- 
answerable appeals of Peter and John. Ye are 
listening not to Galilean fishermen, but to the 



196 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

Spirit of the living God. It is none other than 
the Holy Ghost who reasons with you so power- 
fully, and thus refutes your cavils and despises 
your threatenings. He it is who hath inspired 
with dauntless courage these timid hearts, and who 
causes these tongues, that would else be palsied 
with terror, to discourse so convincingly and elo- 
quently. Never can that witness for Jesus, which 
so grieves and disquiets you, be silenced by the 
weight of your authority, by your fierce threaten- 
ings, or your cruel persecutions. It shall swell 
and heighten, it shall grow louder and louder, until 
the world is compelled to hearken, and the gates 
of hell tremble. 

The Apostle Peter, took this occasion to bring 
to the ears of the Jewish rulers, a truth the most 
important and solemn which man can hear ; one 
w 7 hich not only concerned them most deeply and 
intimately, but which ought to come home to 
every heart and conscience. After assuring them 
that the crucified Jesus was indeed the corner- 
stone, he adds, " Neither is there salvation in 
any other : for there is none other name under 
heaven, given among men, whereby we must be 
saved/' 

When we hear at such a time and before such 
an audience, so impressive an announcement of 
gospel truth from the accused disciples, w 7 e see at 
once how consistent with the goodness and glory 



THE ARRAIGNMENT. 197 

of God, the permission of such trials as they now 
encountered. Thus were the great and saving 
doctrines of Christianity brought to the ears of 
men that would never else have heard them. " Ye 
shall be brought before governors and kings/' the 
Lord had said, " for my sake, for a testimony 
against them." A testimony that they had been 
informed of the way of salvation, and been as- 
sured of the power and willingness of Jesus 
Christ to save all that come unto him. It is the 
will of God that the gospel be preached to every 
creature, and in various and oft unlooked for me- 
thods he brings it to bear upon men. While per- 
secutors have been carrying out their own plans 
of violence and oppression, they have at the same 
time effected the designs of the Almighty. They 
who never would have gone to the assemblies of 
the Christians to hear the message of God, are 
addressed upon the same solemn and weighty 
themes, by the criminals arraigned at their tribu- 
nals. Peter and John stand before the Jewish 
Sanhedrim, not merely as accused persons, but 
as evangelists. And how know we but that this 
strong affirmation of the gospel proved the 
power of God, unto salvation, unto some of those 
who heard it. Not a few memorable instances 
are related in history of the triumph of Christian 
patience and divine truth over the unjust magis- 
trate and the hardened persecutor. The execu- 
10 



198 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tioner himself, who hath dragged the martyr to 
the stake or scaffold, hath been so moved and melt- 
ed by the fortitude, the meekness, the affectionate 
remonstrances, the soul-inspiring hopes of the 
sufferer, that he hath declared himself on the very 
spot, a convert to the proscribed faith, and sub- 
mitted joyfully to the same doom which he had 
just before been ready to inflict. Not long after 
this defence of the two Apostles before the coun- 
cil, we read that " A great company of the priests 
were obedient to the faith." We may not unrea- 
sonably infer that some of them might have been 
sitting in that very Sanhedrim, before which Pe- 
ter uttered this noble affirmation of the all-suffi- 
ciency of Jesus to save, and this solemn denial of 
any possible salvation besides. But whether they 
heard or forbeared, believed or scoffed, it was " a 
testimony against them." Never could they 
henceforth plead ignorance, as an excuse for un- 
belief and impenitence. If they still persisted in 
their sins, it would not be because the tidings of a 
Saviour's grace had failed to reach them. That 
hour when Peter testified that the name of Je- 
sus was the only name given under heaven 
amongst men, whereby they must be saved, would 
be written with a pen of iron in the book of God's 
remembrance, and at once stamped with a far 
heavier accountability their future lives. 

The fact, brethren, that we have heard the gos- 



THE ARRAIGNMENT- 199 

pel of Christ plainly and faithfully presented, is 
one of the most momentous in the history of our 
souls. If the knowledge of Jesus does not save 
us, it will fearfully aggravate our condemnation. 
To perish, after having had the door of the refuge 
opened wide before us, after having been lovingly 
invited and plainly warned, will be of all perdition 
the most dreadful. " How shall we escape if we 
neglect so great salvation ; which at the first 
began to be spoken by the Lord, and was con- 
firmed unto us by them that heard him ?" 

There was every disposition, among the ma- 
jority of the Sanhedrim, to proceed to the severest 
measures against the disseminators of this new 
doctrine. But it was difficult to invent any plau- 
sible pretext for oppressing and persecuting men 
who could be convicted of no real offence, and 
who had just performed a miracle so notorious 
and so beneficial. " And beholding the man 
which was healed standing with them, they could 
say nothing against it." What just ground of 
exception could they take against men who had 
exerted so wonderful a power, for so benevolent 
an object ? The restored cripple was a silent but 
most powerful witness to the truth, and the happy 
effects of the dootrine of Christ. What an en- 
couragement is it, brethren, when the ministers of 
Christ, or the defenders of his religion against the 
attacks and cavils of its enemies, can refer to the 



200 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Lord's living epistles, to those whose lives and 
conversation exhibit the power and excellency of 
his holy religion ! The effect of the Gospel in 
turning the wicked from his way; in elevating 
the frivolous and worldly above their former en- 
joyments ; in rendering the proud, humble ; the 
passionate and irritable, meek ; the sensual and de- 
based, pure and holy ; the selfish and covetous, 
kind and disinterested ; the ungodly, devout and 
spiritually minded ; is one of its strongest appeals 
to them that hate and revile it. Let men take 
knowledge of you, beloved, that ye have been 
with Jesus, and " with well-doing put to silence 
the ignorance of foolish men, that they who are of 
the contrary part may be ashamed, having no 
evil thing to say of you." 

In the lack of any just ground of procedure 
against the Apostles, the Sanhedrim conclude, in 
their private conference, to resort to menaces 
and strict injunctions to them to cease at once 
their public instructions. " But that it spread no 
further among the people, let us straitly threaten 
them, that they speak henceforth to no man in 
this name. And they called them, and command- 
ed them not to speak at all, nor teach in the 
name of Jesus." How little (fM they know the 
men with whom they had to deal? How little 
knew they the spirit of that Gospel which they 
thus hoped to suppress ? " But Peter and John 



THE ARRAIGNMENT. 201 

answered and said unto them, Whether it be right 
in the sight of God to hearken unto you more 
than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but 
speak the things which we have seen and heard." 
And when these intrepid witnesses of Jesus, being 
dismissed with stern threatenings, returned to their 
own company ; and the little band, thus menaced 
and endangered, lifted up their voice to God with 
one accord, what was the tenor of their prayer ? 
Did they supplicate for their own safety, and for 
deliverance from enemies so formidable, and perils 
so imminent ? Did they beseech their God that 
the heavy storm cloud which now blackened 
their horizon, and was driving on towards them 
with fearful rapidity, might be held back or dispel- 
led ? No, this is no part of their petitions. They 
lose sight of their personal risk and jeopardy. 
All their concern is for the glory of their Lord. 
" They lifted up their voice to God with one ac- 
cord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made 
heaven and earth, and the sea, and all that in them 
is : who, by the mouth of thy servant David hast 
said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people 
imagine vain things ? The kings of the earth 
stood up, and the rulers were gathered together 
against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a 
truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast 
anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with 
the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were ga- 



202 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

thered together, for to do whatsoever thy hand 
and thy counsel determined before to be done. 
And now, Lord, behold their threatenings ; and 
grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness 
they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thy 
hand to heal ; and that signs and wonders mav be 
done by the name of thy holy child Jesus." All 
which the persecuted disciples ask for themselves, 
is the gift of undaunted boldness in testifying the 
Gospel, and the accompanying power of God in 
the performance of miracles. To this sublime 
supplication there is indicated an immediate and 
favorable answer. " And when they had prayed, 
the place was shaken where they were assembled 
together ; and they were all filled with the Holy 
Ghost, and they spake the word of God with bold- 
ness. " And here was the source of a strength 
and constancy that could resist the utmost rage 
of persecution. Such men might be accused and 
imprisoned, they might be robbed and scourged, 
branded and anathematized ; they might be be- 
headed, crucified and burnt, but they could not 
be silenced while the tongue was able to move. 
It has been an inexplicable secret to persecutors, 
that they could not eradicate the Gospel of Jesus. 
Torn up or trampled down in one part of the field, 
it is sure to spring up in another. It survives the 
fiercest havoc of the enemy, and rises, like the 
fabled Phoenix, with new vigor, from the ashes of 



THE ARRAIGNMENT. 203 

martyrdom. Jew and Gentile have alike labored 
to exterminate the truth as it is in Jesus. Heathen 
Rome and Papal Rome in turn waged for centuries 
a bloody warfare against the saints of the Most 
High; but alike without success. Christ's mar- 
tyrs have kissed the instrument of torture, and 
hugged the stake to which they were bound. 
Let that Gospel, brethren, which has been so oft 
and so nobly vindicated by the constancy and the 
deaths of its converts, be dear to our hearts. It 
hath come down to us embalmed with the fra- 
grant memories, and watered with the blood of 
the confessors and martyrs of Jesus, through 
many ages. Let us cling to it with unwavering 
devotion, and never falter in its profession or its 
obedience. And since there is no other name 
than that of Jesus given under heaven amongst 
men, whereby we must be saved, see to it, belov- 
ed, that ye put your whole trust in that blessed 
name. To neglect, to disown, to reject it is to 
perish. Let that name be written on your fore- 
heads, and graven in your hearts. " It is a faithful 
saying : For if we be dead with him, we shall 
also live with him : If we suffer, we shall also 
reign with him : If we deny him, he also will 
deny us." 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 



ACTS V. 5. 



" And Ananias, hearing these words, fell down, and gave up the 
ghost : and great fear came on all them that heard these things." 

The miracles recorded in holy writ are, for 
the most part, miracles of mercy. Those won- 
drous powers, which the Almighty entrusted to 
his servants as the incontrovertible credentials of 
their mission, were exerted commonly for the re- 
lief of human misery. The benevolent character 
of a divine religion is strikingly apparent, in the 
nature of these supernatural vouchers of its truth. 
The object manifestly is not to startle and affright 
men into submission, but to win them to faith and 
obedience bv the mercifulness of these marvellous 
works. Awe indeed, and reverence must be pro- 
duced by such exhibition of unearthly power, but 
awe tempered with gratitude and love. Thus it 
was that our Lord Jesus Christ, in the perfor- 
mance of his astonishing miracles, " went about 
doing good;" and his disciples, in like manner, gave 
undeniable proof, in the signs and wonders which 
they showed, of the beneficence of the Gospel 
which they were sent to proclaim. 



THE APPALLING- JUDGMENT. 205 

But to this usually gracious tenor of these mar- 
vellous attestations of Christianity there were ex- 
ceptions ; not frequent indeed, but of a peculiarly 
awful and impressive character. Sometimes under 
the new, as under the old dispensation, the God 
whose wonted revelations were so compassionate 
and merciful, showed himself as " a consuming 
fire/ 5 His justly provoked wrath, on these rare 
occasions, flamed forth like the sudden flash from 
the thunder-cloud, and careless, irreverent mortals 
were startled from their dreams of false security, 
and trembled before " that fearful and glorious 
name, the Lord Jehovah/' Such a visitation it 
was which thrilled with deepest awe the infant 
Church at Jerusalem, and spread fear and alarm 
through multitudes of the city's inhabitants — the 
death of Ananias and Sapphira. This solemn 
event, occurring in the midst of the general at- 
tention and interest awakened by the rising of 
Christianity, in such life and vigor, from its author's 
sepulchre, produced, as might be supposed, im- 
pressions of deepest seriousness and reverence, 
and the strongest conviction of the truth, holiness 
and divine origin of the new religion. As the 
agent, whom God selected to pronounce in his 
name sentence upon the offenders, was the Apos- 
tle whose life we are now considering, the event 
calls for our attentive study. 

The condition of the Church at Jerusalem 
' 10 * 



206 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

after the dismissal of Peter and John by the San- 
hedrim, their reluctant dismissal of those whom 
they could find no fair pretext for oppressing and 
punishing, is described to us in glowing language. 
The pen which never flatters hath traced a picture 
of the unanimity, fraternal kindness, charity and 
fervent devotion of these first disciples of the Lord 
Jesus, which must extort the admiration of every 
unprejudiced reader. " And the multitude of them 
that believed were of one heart, and of one soul : 
neither said any of them that aught of the things 
which he possessed was his own, but they had all 
things common. And with great power gave the 
Apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord 
Jesus : and great grace was upon them all. Nei- 
ther was there any among them that lacked : for 
as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold 
them, and brought the prices of the things that 
were sold, and laid them down at the Apostles' 
feet : and distribution was made unto every man 
according as he had need." 

The circumstances of these first disciples of 
Christ were altogether peculiar and extraordinary. 
A multitude of the new converts were foreign 
Jews, and proselytes from distant countries, who 
had been attracted to Jerusalem by the great feasts 
of the Passover and Pentecost. These of course 
prolonged their stay in the city much beyond their 
original intention, unwilling to leave the teaching 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 207 

and guidance of the Apostles, and the company 
of their brethren. But those of them whose re- 
sources were not large, would soon exhaust their 
means, and require aid from the charity of their 
brethren. The bigotry of the unbelieving Jews 
doubtless expelled many of the new disciples from 
their former places of abode, and the converted 
poor of Jerusalem, as well as the strangers, were 
cut off from those assistances which had been 
heretofore extended to them. Thus there sprung 
up a speedy and large demand upon the sympa- 
thies of those Christians, who were favored with 
the possession of property. Numbers of their 
homeless and indigent brethren appealed to their 
charity for support. Neither did they appeal in 
vain. The charity of the Church rose with the 
demand upon it. The more affluent disciples, en- 
raptured with the discovery of those heavenly 
treasures which were now unfolded to them, 
counted their earthly possessions as dross, or only 
valued them so far as they might by the use of 
them glorify God, and benefit their brethren. 
Hence there prevailed a spirit of liberality that 
has never since been equalled. In the strength 
of their faith, and the fervor of their love, they 
counted it a most precious privilege to minister to 
their Lord in his impoverished and needy mem- 
bers. And not a few there were, who in their 
zealous liberality, contributed every thing that 



208 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

they had to the common fund, and were content 
to subsist themselves on the same allowance that 
was made to the necessitous. 

That this self-impoverishment was wholly vol- 
untary, and not exacted, appears from the very 
narrative of Ananias and Sapphira that we are 
now to consider. That the Gospel does not re- 
quire a community of goods is evident from nu- 
merous passages of the epistles which define the 
respective duties of the rich and the poor ; and it 
would be easy to show that such community, as 
a general and permanent arrangement, would be 
anything but a blessing. But in the new and ex- 
traordinary circumstances of the infant Church at 
Jerusalem, this conduct w r as the natural prompt- 
ing of that brotherly-kindness which glowed so 
fervently in the Christian body, and of that faith 
which held so cheap earth, and all that was earthly. 
The disinterested and affectionate spirit of the 
new religion, the harmony, consideration, sympa- 
thy and self-forgetfulness which pertain to its ge- 
nuine spirit and working, were .thus brightly and 
beautifully exhibited. 

There was felt not unnaturally among the 
members of the early Church, an affectionate ad- 
miration of this abounding and unselfish liberality. 
Those who practised it received a gratitude and 
consideration therefor, which they were far from 
expecting or desiring. 4 They had not done their 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 209 

works to be seen or observed of men, but men 
saw them, and glorified their heavenly Father; and 
not only so, but testified their grateful, approving 
sense of this noble conduct. Now it is the con- 
sequence of our fallen state that, w r ith whatever is 
good, elevated and holy upon earth, there should 
mingle the evil and the base. The wheat no 
sooner springs up with fair promise in the field, 
than there appear tares also. Out of the very 
virtues and excellencies of God's servants, grow 
abuses and counterfeits. From the very fact that 
Christian benevolence and charity are so lovely 
and commendable, the temptation arises to obtain, 
by spurious imitation, that approbation and ap- 
plause which are due to the reality. The false 
pretender to goodness follows hard upon the faith- 
' ful and blameless, and the hypocrite covets the 
reputation and influence of the upright. In a 
double way was the peculiar state of things in the 
early Church liable to abuse : — first, from hypocri- 
tical converts, attaching themselves to the Church 
from mercenary motives, that they might be sup- 
ported by its charity : and secondly, from preten- 
ders to that honor and esteem which naturally at- 
tached to men of property, who cast their all into 
the common fund. From such abuses the cause 
of Christ had more to fear, at this crisis, than 
from the open hostility of the Jewish rulers. 
Should these false pretenders succeed, the Church 



210 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

would be soon thronged with a multitude of merce- 
nary and insincere members, who would prove to 
it a burden and a disgrace, hang as a dead weight 
upon its progress, and cause the way of truth to 
be evil spoken of. Such men would be held up 
by its enemies as the fair representatives of the 
new doctrine, and Christianity would utterly fail 
of making that general, deep impression of its 
purity, disinterestedness and unearthly excellence, 
upon which so greatly depended its growth, influ- 
ence and success. 

Hence, we can well perceive how needful at 
its outset that vindication of its purity, effected 
by the fearful judgment that befel Ananias and 
Sapphira. Men must learn that this new and di- 
vine religion is not to be trifled with. It was no 
safe cloak for the hypocrite — no convenient en- 
gine to be perverted by the ambitious and cove- 
tous. As in the first establishment of the Jewish 
economy, God vindicated his right to implicit 
obedience by the flames which consumed Nadab 
and Abihu, when they offered.strange fire before 
him: as at the entrance of Israel into Canaan, the 
sin of Achan in hiding the accursed thing was so 
promptly and terribly punished ; so now, at the 
introduction of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into the 
world which he had redeemed, God saw fit in like 
manner to strike a blow that might deter the un- 
principled hypocrite from intruding among his 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 211 

flock, and teach all men the danger of abusing his 
holy religion to their unhallowed ends and pro- 
jects. 

The individual, whose name stands npon the 
inspired page as the object of so awful a visita- 
tion, was Ananias. His purpose w r as to obtain in 
the Church that reputation and esteem which at- 
tached to men like Barnabas, the Levite of Cyprus, 
who had contributed their whole estate to the 
exigencies of the body. He, therefore, also sold 
his possession, and voluntarily brought a part of 
the purchase money, and laid it at the Apostles' 
feet. Wherein consisted the offence? He might, 
as Peter told him, have kept the whole to himself. 
He was not compelled to sell his possession, or, 
having sold it, to offer the price to the Apostles. 
But his sin was in professing to do the very same 
thing which others had done. He brought a part 
of the price, as if it had been the whole. Either 
by word or gesture he indicated that he gave up 
his whole property to the Lord, as unreservedly 
and heartily as Barnabas, and others of the same 
spirit. He expected to stand in the same desira- 
ble position with those unworldly and liberal men. 
He anticipated praise from the Apostles, and 
honor from his brethren, for this act of generosity. 
He would have a claim to support from the funds 
of the Christian body. And he had moreover in 
reserve the residue of his estate, in case of the 



212 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

failure of the Gospel, or the exhaustion of its trea- 
sury. Thus there was in this act a hypocritical 
profession of sanctity and liberality, falsehood and 
covetousness, and a fraud attempted upon the in- 
spired Apostles. How terribly must have sound- 
ed in his ear the Apostle's stern interrogation ? 
" But Peter said, Ananias, Why hath Satan filled 
thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep 
back part of the price of the land ? While it re- 
mained, was it not thine own? And after it was 
sold, was it not in thine own power ? Why hast 
thou conceived this thing in thine heart ? Thou 
hast not lied unto men, but unto God/*' 

Fearful indeed was this exposure of the wick- 
ed deception of this unhappy man. The Apostle 
charges him with acting under the influence of 
the great Adversary, the father of lies : and yet 
not so as to diminish his own accountability and 
guilt. For immediately after attributing this in- 
iquity to Satan's having filled his heart, he adds, 
"Why hast, thou conceived this thing in thine 
heart ?" The enemy of our souls has much to do 
with our sins ; and some sins particularly, among 
which falsehood is prominent, are ascribed to his 
seductions ; but this Satanic influence does not 
away with, neither diminishes our own accounta- 
bility. If we admit, cherish, yield to the tempta- 
tion, which by God's help we might successfully 
resist, we must answer for it as truly our own. 



THE APPALLING- JUDGMENT. 213 

The sin, which the Apostle here charges upon this 
wretched man, is a " lie unto the Holy Ghost. " 
He repeats the charge as a " lie unto God/' thus 
implying the great scriptural doctrine of the di- 
vinity and personality of the Holy Ghost. We 
must perceive the justice of this charge, when we 
remember what made the Apostles to -differ from 
other men. Why were they placed in this promi- 
nent position ? How were they enabled to work 
these miracles, and to speak with other tongues ? 
Who had entrusted them with the government 
and oversight of the Church of God, and appoint- 
ed them true expounders of the Gospel, and un- 
erring guides to the seekers of salvation ? The 
answer must be, that all these gifts and powers 
were conferred on them by the Holy Ghost. This 
distinguished them so remarkably from others, and 
qualified them for the office which they filled. An 
attempt to impose upon them therefore, acting in 
their Apostolic character, was an attempt to de- 
ceive the Spirit of God. It was not simply to man 
that Ananias uttered this falsehood. It was to the 
Holy Ghost, who had set apart these men for him- 
self, to act as his delegates, to dispense his gifts, 
to speak as his mouth. Ananias knew that the 
Apostles were not acting on their own behalf — 
that it Was not as ordinary men that they admi- 
nistered the affairs of the Church. He knew of 
the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit. He 



214 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

might have seen the cloven flames resting upon 
the heads of the men, whom he was attempting to 
deceive. He had daily opportunity of witnessing 
their miraculous powers. And he could not doubt 
that the Holy Ghost abode in them, as chosen 
vessels, and exhibited through them his divine 
energy. To the Spirit of God therefore the bold 
falsehood was uttered. 

As Peter charges this flagrant guilt upon Ana- 
nias, the disciples gathered around, are struck 
with amazement and horror. But how are these 
feelings deepened, as their eyes turn from the 
Apostle to the detected hypocrite ! A sudden, 
awful change comes over the trembling culprit. 
A livid paleness overspreads his countenance. His 
eyes grow dim and glassy. A momentary expres- 
sion of indescribable horror convulses his features, 
and then they are fixed in immoveable rigidity. 
The affrighted by-standers see death stamped on 
the ghastly countenance. And ere they can catch 
the sinking frame, it falls heavily upon the ground. 
The living man of an instant before, is now a 
corpse. The tongue, that had just uttered a lie 
unto the Holy Ghost, is motionless. The spirit 
of the wretched Ananias hath fled from earth. 
Whither, we dare not follow it. 

The change which the stroke of death makes 
in the mortal, the sudden transformation of the 
breathing, animated, sensitive man into a clod of 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 215 

earth, retaining but the pallid semblance of hu- 
manity, is most affecting under all circumstances. 
But oh, how appalling is it when the sinner is cut 
off in his sin ! When no divine consolations have 
soothed the parting agony, when no cheering hope 
illumines the death-chamber, when the witnesses 
feel no privilege to chant the sweet anthem, "Bless- 
ed are the dead which die in the Lord !" With sad 
and heavy hearts, the young men, whose duty it 
was, remove the frightful object, the body scathed 
as it were with heaven's avenging flash. Unut- 
terable emotions of awe and dread fill every soul. 
The awful presence of a God of purer eyes than 
to behold evil, of One that cannot look on iniquity, 
is felt by all. 

But the work of judgment is not yet complete. 
There was an accomplice in this impious decep- 
tion, and they who were one in sin must be one 
in doom. Oh! how sad a thing is it, when those 
bonds of affection and confidence which are meant 
so greatly to promote our happiness, and strengthen 
us for duty and holiness, are perverted to the en- 
couragement of sin. How sad is it, when they 
who should bear one another's burdens, and so 
fulfil the law of Christ, who should provoke one 
another to love and good works, who should ad- 
monish and incite each other to walk in the way 
of life, how sad when they consult and combine 
to do wickedness ? How blighting, deadly a curse 



216 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

is sin, which can pervert God's precious gifts to 
our own perdition, poison every pure enjoyment 
and healthful influence, and make those domestic 
ties that should be hallowed and blessed, only the 
occasions of confederacy in guilt ! When hus- 
band and w T ife, parent and child, brother and sis- 
ter pursue, hand in hand, the broad road that 
leadeth to destruction, and urge each other down 
the slippery steep of hell, angels must weep and 
shudder. 

Unconscious of the fearful judgment that hath 
befallen her husband, Sapphira enters, prepared to 
confirm the preconcerted lie. Wretched woman, 
canst thou not read in the horror visible on every 
countenance, that some awful event hath taken 
place ? Why this ominous silence, this ill-sup- 
pressed agitation, these starting tears, these 
anxious, fearful looks, bent upon thyself? What 
means this sternly penetrating, but sorrowful 
glance of the Apostle Peter ? Calm and motion- 
less he stands in the midst ; — the hypocritical ob- 
lation still lying at his feet. His is the look and 
the manner of one nerving himself for an inevi- 
table, but soul-distressing task. But there is also 
manifest a more than common elevation and so- 
lemnity in his demeanor. He is under a mighty 
influence of the Spirit, and lifted above the weak- 
ness of mortality. The man is forgotten in the 
messenger of God. No particle of human pas- 






THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 217 

sion, no emotion of anger or hatred stirs in his 
breast. God himself is dealing with these offen- 
ders, and Peter is but his instrument. 

The solemn question of the Apostle gives 
Sapphira yet an opportunity of repentance. The 
last accent of grace breathed in the words, " Tell 
me whether ye sold the land for so much ?" Oh, 
stop, thou wretched deceiver. Seal not thy doom 
forever by the presumptuous lie. But her con- 
science is seared, and her heart hardened by the 
deceitfulness of sin. And the fatal untruth flows 
readily from her lips, " And she said, yea, for so 
much. Then Peter said unto her, How is it that 
ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the 
Lord ? Behold, the feet of them which have 
buried thy husband are at the door, and shall car- 
ry thee out." She listens to the awful words, — 
her own death sentence. She begins to appre- 
hend their dread meaning. Conviction of her 
guilt and of her danger just flashes upon her soul ; 
and in a moment that soul is required by God, and 
hurried away to its great account. " Then fell 
she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up 
the ghost. And the young men came in, and 
found her dead, and carrying her forth, buried 
her by her husband. And great fear came upon 
all the Church, and upon as many as heard these 
things." 

Well might a solemn awe settle upon all to 



218 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

whom these startling tidings came. Surely must 
they have exclaimed, " It is a fearful thing to fall 
into the hands of the living God." The effect of 
this appalling judgment was to repel every hollow- 
hearted dissembler from the Christian fold. " Of 
the rest durst no man join himself unto them" — 
no man who w T as not conscious of the purity of 
his motives, and the singleness of his heart. 
The insincere and worldly perceived how dan- 
gerous the attempt to make gain of godliness, or 
to deal falsely with the Lord's inspired servants. 
But the terrible stroke had not the effect of mak- 
ing the Gospel less precious, or the Church less at- 
tractive to them that were in earnest for salva- 
tion. For we read immediately after, " The peo- 
ple magnified them : and believers were the more 
added to the Lord, multitudes, both of men and 
women." This making bare of the Almighty 
arm -was a proof not to be gainsay ed of the truth 
and divine origin of the gospel, and self-accusing 
penitents felt that their sole hope, their only 
safety, was under the shadow of a Saviour's 
cross. 

From this painfully interesting narrative, let 
us gather, beloved, a deeper conviction of the evil 
and danger of sin, and especially of the sins of 
hypocrisy, deception, fraud and falsehood. Have 
we not cause to mourn and to tremble when we 
are compelled to witness the frequency of such 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 219 

sins ? For how slight a cause will many sacrifice 
the truth? What an amount of falsehood and de- 
ception are constantly ventured on ? How im- 
portant that, the young especially be taught to ab- 
hor and dread all equivocation and deceit ; to feel 
its hatefulness to God, and its deadly peril to the 
soul ? The sin of falsehood is no less offensive 
to God, because he does not strike the liar dead in 
a moment. He has warned us, that " All liars 
shall have their part in the lake which burnetii 
with fire and brimstone, which is the second 
death." And surely this awful sentence ought to 
be as effectual to deter us from this sin, as the 
immediate infliction of such a doom as befel this 
guilty pair. 

Let us be especially truthful and sincere in all 
that pertains to our religious duties. When we 
profess to give God all, let us not wilfully and will- 
ingly keep back any part of what is justly his. It 
was optional with Ananias to make his offering to 
the Lord. But the self-consecration that we are 
bound to render is not optional, for we are not our 
own, but bought with a price. God has already 
the highest claims upon us. Let us not deal de- 
ceitfully with him. When the disciple of Jesus 
studies to unite the services of God and Mammon, 
gives to the world those affections which have 
been vowed to the Saviour, evinces zeal and ar- 
dor in the pursuit of selfish objects, but is slug- 



220 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

gish and indifferent to the promotion of the Re- 
deemer's glory, is there no keeping back of part 
of the price ? When the hand is open to the 
demands of pride and pleasure, but shut against 
the claims of the Gospel, and the sufferings of 
the poor ; when the expenditure is lavish for per- 
sonal enjoyment or ambition, and parsimonious 
for the Redeemer's cause, is there no keeping 
back of part of the price ? When parents pro- 
fessedly dedicate their offspring to God, in holy 
baptism, and then suffer them to grow up in un- 
checked folly, untaught in the nature of the 
solemn promise and vow made in their name, per- 
mitted to follow the multitude to do evil, without 
restraint or remonstrance, is there no keeping 
back part of the price ? Oh, brethren, we deal 
with a heart-searching God, who requireth truth 
in the inward parts. Let integrity and upright- 
ness preserve us. God is merciful to the defects 
and short-comings of the earnest and true-heart- 
ed. Our Great High Priest is touched with the 
feeling of our infirmities, but he will not away 
with dissimulation and double-dealing. If we 
serve God at all, it must be in sincerity and 
truth. 

And is not every secret sinner attempting to 
lie unto God ? And where sinners unite to cover 
their iniquity, are they not, like Ananias and Sap- 
phira, agreeing together to tempt the Spirit of the 



THE APPALLING JUDGMENT. 221 

Lord ? Is it not in effect, venturing an experi- 
ment upon the existence and the omniscience of the 
Mighty One ; trying whether God can perceive, 
and whether he will punish ? " Is not God in the 
height of heaven? And behold the height of the 
stars, how high they are ! And thou sayest, How 
doth God know ? Can he judge through the dark 
cloud ?" And all those triflers with divine long- 
suffering, who say to the Spirit of God again and 
again, " Go thy way for this time, when I have a 
convenient season I will call for thee" — are they 
not attempting to put off the Holy visitant with 
false and insincere promises, and hollow protesta- 
tions ? When will man learn the incredible folly, 
the exceeding danger of dealing deceitfully with 
their Maker ? " Be not deceived : God is not 
mocked ; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall 
he also reap." 



11 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 



ACTS VIII. 20, 21. 

" But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because 
thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with 
money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter : for thy 
heart is not right in the sight of God." 

The growth of the Christian Church in Jeru- 
salem, spite of all the opposition that it experi- 
enced, provoked still more the jealousy of the Jew- 
ish rulers, and kindled the flames of a fiercer per- 
secution. The spirit of rancorous hostility to the 
truth of God first began to slake its rage with 
blood in the martyrdom of holy Stephen ; and 
after the sacrifice of this willing victim, broke 
forth with violence against the whole body of 
believers. Led on by the furious bigotry of Saul 
of Tarsus, the enemies of the faith redoubled their 
exertions to crush and exterminate it, and the 
storm which burst so violently upon Jerusalem 
drove out multitudes of the new disciples into the 
surrounding cities and villages. "At that time 
there was a great persecution against the Church 
which was at Jerusalem ; and they were all scat- 
tered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and 
Samaria, except the Apostles." But this assault 



SIMON THE MAGICIAK. 223 

of the enemy, so far from suppressing the new re- 
ligion, had only the effect of spreading it most 
rapidly and successfully. There needed such a 
strong blast of persecution to scatter abroad the 
seed of the kingdom. The Gospel was not in- 
tended to be pent up within the walls of Jerusa- 
lem, but to be communicated to a world of sin- 
ners. And the rage of its embittered foes was only 
the means of sooner effecting this merciful purpose 
of God. The murder of Stephen and the furious 
onslaught that followed, were but the signal of 
an immediate and rapid evangelization. " There- 
fore they that were scattered abroad, went every 
where preaching the word/' Their own prefer- 
ence would doubtless have been to abide longer 
at Jerusalem, listening to the edifying teachings 
of the Apostles, and enjoying delightful com- 
munion with their brethren. But the Lord had 
need of them. He had a work for them to do 
as his witnesses and missionaries, and in their 
flight they carried with them the knowledge of 
Christ. Their faith was too strong and their zeal 
too fervent to permit them to be silent fugitives. 
Wherever they went, their master went with them. 
Such of them as had been set apart to the minis- 
try, publicly, and with the authority of God's am- 
bassadors, proclaimed salvation through a crucified 
Redeemer; and the private Christians taught from 
house to house, and communicated to all whom 



224 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

they met by the way the glad tidings. Out of the 
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, and 
true Christian love longs to impart to others its 
own happiness and hopes, and grows richer and 
stronger by imparting. Thus the Gospel was ex- 
tended with unexpected rapidity, and the tempest 
blast that scattered abroad the members of the 
Church at Jerusalem, carried healing in its wings 
to many that were ready to perish. With what, 
strong confidence may they who love the gates of 
Zion and whose hearts tremble for the ark of God, 
rely upon the wisdom and power of Him who is 
the keeper and husband of his Church ! What may 
seem to our foreboding hearts the storm-cloud of 
calamity and ruin, shall pour down blessings. The 
events that God's people greatly dread, prove the 
means of all others most effectual for the advance 
of his kingdom. His enemies may rage and blas- 
pheme, but the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 
" The waves of the sea are mighty and rage hor- 
ribly, but yet the Lord who dwelleth on high is 
mightier. The Lord sitteth above the water flood. 
The Lord abideth a king for ever/' Happy they 
whose cause is his: of whom he saith, "It is my 
people ; and they can answer, " The Lord is my 
God." 

Among those driven from Jerusalem at this 
juncture was Philip, one of the newly ordained 
Deacons of the Church, a colleague of holy Ste- 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 225 

phen. From his diligent and successful labors 
in disseminating the Gospel, he is also called Philip 
the Evangelist. He, it is recorded, " went down 
to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto 
them/ 3 The city which he visited is supposed, 
with some probability, to have been the same in 
which our Saviour once halted on his way to Je- 
rusalem, where he conversed with the woman at 
the well, and was received by many as the Mes- 
siah. If this were so, it explains the speedy ac- 
ceptance of the Gospel w T hich Philip now made 
known to them in its finished glory. " The peo- 
ple with one accord gave heed unto those things 
which Philip spake, hearing, and seeing the mira- 
cles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying 
with loud voice, came out of many that were 
possessed ; and many taken with palsies, and that 
were lame, were healed. And there was great joy 
in that city." 

The Gospel, heartily received and truly fol- 
lowed, will bring great joy to the city, to the 
family, to the soul where it gains entrance. The 
discovery of its hidden treasures fills the believing 
heart with a delight and gratitude that can flow 
from no other source. " The fruit of the Spirit 
is love, joy, peace."' If the supposed knowledge 
of Christ make us not really and vastly happier, 
it must be that we either do not embrace, or do 
not understand the Gospel. A simple faith, cling- 



226 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

ing to the promises and appropriating the salva- 
tion of Jesus to its own need ; a trust of God's 
pardoning mercy; a hope that looks forward within 
the veil and anticipates the everlasting kingdom, 
will warm, expand, enliven, delight the soul. "I 
am as glad of thy word," exclaims the Psalmist, 
"as one that findeth great spoils." There was 
great joy in this Samaritan city, for Christianity 
was hailed there as a boon from heaven. The 
truth was received in the love of it. The purify- 
ing influences of the Gospel were realized. Un- 
clean spirits fled at the name of Jesus, sin quailed 
and Satan trembled before the banner of the Re- 
deemer. It was another place from what it had 
been before. Vice shrunk into covert retreats ; 
anger and strife yielded to peace and good will ; 
instead of the voice of blasphemy or ribaldry was 
heard the hymn of praise and the song of thanks- 
giving. A happy, holy, delightful change hath 
come over the city. And the simple means of 
effecting this moral revolution was the preaching 
of Christ, confirmed by those miraculous works 
which his first heralds were permitted to show. 
The miracles we have not now, brethren. The 
Gospel of Jesus we have. It is no less effectual 
now, than in the Apostles' days, to turn men from 
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan 
unto God. Miracles served but to attest the di- 
vine origin of the new religion. The moral trans- 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 227 

formations were wrought by the Spirit, through 
the word. But the word must be received with 
reverence and faith to make it the power of God 
unto salvation. All the real and permanent good 
that is wrought under the name of religion, is by 
the simple preaching and teaching of Christ. No 
human contrivances, no artificial stimulants, no 
expedient or machinery of man's invention, can 
add to the efficacy, or enlarge the real triumphs 
of the Gospel, truly and faithfully proclaimed. 
The temporary success of equivocal methods of 
working on the passions of men will be ultimately 
followed by disappointment and disaster. To have 
recourse to them, as if the Gospel had lost its 
saving power, argues unbelief, and disparagement 
of the appointed means of spiritual healing. When 
we preach Christ to men, publicly and from house 
to house, plainly, faithfully, earnestly, affection- 
ately, we have set open the door of the kingdom. 
Thenceforth the responsibility of the whole com- 
ing eternity is upon them. If they welcome the 
Saviour, there will be great joy in their homes 
and in their hearts — there will be joy even in 
heaven over their repentance. If they refuse him, 
we can do no more; but it shall be more tolerable 
for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than 
for the despisers of His grace. It is under such 
unspeakably solemn conditions, beloved, that we 



228 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

testify the Gospel of the grace of God. Shall any 
of you hear it only to condemnation ? 

" Now when the Apostles which were at Jeru- 
salem heard that Samaria had received the word 
of God, they sent unto them Peter and John : 
who, when they were come down, prayed for them, 
that they might receive the Holy Ghost : (for as 
yet he was fallen upon none of them : only they 
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) 
Then laid they their hands on them, and they re- 
ceived the Holy Ghost." The same Almighty 
Ruler who had suffered the members of the Church 
at Jerusalem to be scattered abroad, the more ra- 
pidly to communicate the treasures of the gospel, 
had kept the Apostles still at Jerusalem. So long 
as their presence there was essential to the per- 
fecting of their work, and laying deep and firm 
the foundations of the Church, their enemies had 
no power to harm them. When put in prison, the 
angel of the Lord, by night, had opened the prison 
doors, and sent them forth to resume their labors. 
And although they were not now, probably, at 
liberty to proclaim so openly the word of life, yet 
they were still carrying forward, with unabated 
diligence, the work for which they were commis- 
sioned ; settling the Church at Jerusalem, and 
watching over its interests in the surrounding 
regions. On hearing the good news of the suc- 
cess of Philip at Samaria, they commission two 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 229 

of their number to visit the city. There had been 
a time when, as Jews, they were not disposed to 
hold any friendly intercourse with Samaritans. 
But that deep-rooted prejudice, that had estranged 
so long these neighboring people, yielded to the 
benignant power of true religion. Christianity 
broke down the middle wall of partition between 
them, led them to feel an affectionate interest in 
each others' welfare, and disnosed them cheerfully 
to extend such aid as was in their power. How 
little do those professed Christians who ailow r 
themselves to indulge bitter prejudices and ran- 
corous feelings against their fellow-men, because 
of differences of nation, or dwelling, or opinion, 
or race, apprehend the benevolent and expansive 
character of the Saviour's religion ! " He, by 
the grace of God, tasted death for every man," 
and the fact of his great love for every member 
of the human family, ought to produce in our 
hearts a feeling of kindness and fraternal affection 
to all for whom Christ died. 

The Apostles, Peter and John, were united in 
this mission. And w T e cannot but observe here 
again, how continually the inspired narrative dis- 
proves the idea of Peter being invested with any 
primacy or superiority over the other Apostles. 
Had he been the admitted Head and Governor of 
the whole Church, he would have deputed some of 
the number to visit the Church at Samaria. But 
11 * 



230 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

instead of sending, he is himself sent ; and we have 
the declaration of our Saviour himself to the ef- 
fect, that " He that is sent is not greater than he 
that sent him." The object of this Apostolic 
visit was to settle generally the affairs of the new- 
ly-planted Church, and to add their labors to those 
of Philip, for its increase and edification, and espe- 
cially to render such offices as Philip was not au- 
thorized to perform. One of these was a solemn 
imposition of hands upon the baptized converts, 
with prayer for the influences of the Holy Spirit 
to descend upon them. On this occasion it was, 
in the Apostolic Church, that the first disciples 
received those extraordinary and miraculous gifts * 
of the Spirit, which were then their privilege and 
seal. The Apostles, upon whose heads the Spirit 
had rested in cloven flames at Pentecost, were the 
sole dispensers of the same wonderful gifts which 
had then been bestowed upon themselves. And 
this is the meaning of the words, that " As yet the 
Holy Ghost had fallen upon none" of the Samari- 
tans. He had not fallen upon them in these ex- 
traordinary gifts and powers. He had been 
granted to them in his still more precious and 
saving influences as their eniightener, converter 
and sanctifier. Through his descending grace 
their hearts had been opened to welcome the Sa- 
viour, and that joy which had pervaded evangel- 
ized Samaria, was a "joy in the Holy Ghost." 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 231 

Those more striking and obvious manifesta- 
tions of his power, had not yet been imparted. 
But upon the imposition of the Apostle's hands, the 
converts received this token also of his presence, 
and performed works surpassing man's unaided 
strength. 

I may here remark, in passing, that to this 
Apostolic practice, the Church from the primi- 
tive age to the present, has traced the edifying 
rite of confirming baptized disciples, with the lay- 
ing on of hands of the chief pastors of the flock. 
And while the miraculous gifts of the Spirit no 
longer accompany the usage, yet have we good rea- 
son to hope and believe that such as present them- 
selves with true and penitent hearts will receive, 
in answer to the prayers offered upon so solemn 
an occasion, the blessed influences of the Spirit, 
to strengthen their faith and establish them in ho- 
liness. Neither if the Church felt herself at 
liberty to disregard scriptural and primitive exam- 
ple, could she invent a mode of professing faith 
and obedience to Christ more simple, appropriate 
and edifying. 

On this visit, the Apostles had also a painful 
duty to perform. As the spirit of falsehood and 
deceit had manifested itself, at Jerusalem, in Ana- 
nias and Sapphira, so the spirit of worldly ambi- 
tion and of abuse of sacred things to unholy ends 
appeared at Samaria, in Simon Magus. From the 



232 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

inspired history we learn that this man was a pre • 
tended sorcerer or magician, who had largely im- 
posed upon the inhabitants of this city, " giving 
out that himself was some great One," something 
more than mortal, and gaining the assent of many 
to his false* and arrogant claims. Such practisers 
upon the credulity and folly of mankind have 
never been wanting, and have seldom failed of 
success. Even in our own age of boasted en- 
lightenment and diffused knowledge, such decep- 
tions are still current. The false prophet, the re- 
ligious impostor, the pretended astrologer and 
soothsayer, reap a plenteous harvest of gain from 
the folly, credulity and wickedness of men. 
Among the ignorant and vicious there is a strange 
proclivity to delusion. They that are deaf to the 
calls of God's word, are the willing dupes of arti- 
fice and pretension. Many turn away from the 
truth to give ear unto fables, and the lying won- 
ders of Satan take captive hearts that are impene- 
trable to the Gospel of Christ. One of these suc- 
cessful deceivers was Simon. But the entrance 
of the Gospel into Samaria had the effect of deliv- 
ering men from his pernicious influence. " When 
they believed Philip preaching the things concern- 
ing the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus 
Christ, they were baptized both men and women.'* 
The bright beams of true religion dispelled the 
darkness that had enveloped their souls. Between 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN.. 233 

the pure Gospel, and every form of falsehood and 
superstition, there is an irreconcileable hostility. 
They cannot co-exist. 

But what was most remarkable, Simon pro- 
fessed himself a convert to the new religion. 
" Then Simon himself believed also : and when 
he w T as baptized, he continued with Philip, and 
wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which 
were done." Simon " believed" it is said ; but 
not "with the heart, unto righteousness." His 
was the conviction of the understanding that 
Christianity was true and divine ; such belief as 
belongs to those evil spirits who "believe and 
tremble;" such belief as many have who have 
been been educated in Christian lands, who pro- 
fess not to doubt that the Gospel is from God, 
and w T ho yet are, personally, as unaffected and 
uninfluenced by its solemn truths as the veriest 
infidel. An intelligent, candid mind, cannot gain- 
say the evidence of our holy religion. But this is 
quite a different thing from surrendering the soul 
to Christ, and reposing with humble confidence on 
his power to save. True faith alway works by 
love, purifies the heart and overcomes the world. 

And this is the faith, without which " it is impos- 

i 

slble to please God/' 

. But far different from this was Simon's con- 
viction. Ke was amazed at the miracles by which 
the preachers of this new religion established 



234 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

their mission. He found his own lying wonders, 
which had formerly gained him such reputation, 
entirely outdone by these open and well-authen- 
ticated miracles. He attached himself, either out 
of policy or fear to Philip, as one whose desire it 
was to serve and follow Christ ; and the Evan- 
gelist, not seeming to doubt his sincerity, admit- 
ted him by baptism, into the Church. While it is 
the duty of the Christian minister to make known 
w T ith all plainness the way of salvation, to set 
forth what God requires, to explain the nature of 
true and acceptable religion, and to warn men 
against abusing the ordinances of Christ ; it ought, 
at the same time, to be understood that the respon- 
sibility of a religious profession is personal. The 
pastor instructs, counsels, invites and warns. 
The candidate for Church membership decides for 
himself, whether, with a good conscience, he can 
join himself to the Lord in his own appointed 
way. This was the case even in that age, when 
there was such a gift in the Church as " the dis- 
cerning of spirits/' Much more must it be so 
now. 

Simon's admiration was still farther enhanced 
when he beheld the Apostles, Peter and John, ob- 
taining for the Samaritan converts, by the laying 
on of hands and prayer, the very miraculous gifts 
which Philip had exhibited. His own desire is 
kindled to obtain the same wondrous ability. He, 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 235 

too, would be an Apostle. Not content with 
membership in the Church, he covets the highest 
office and the largest powers. He perceives how 
much reputation and profit he might obtain from 
such an endowment. For it would enable him to 
surpass all his previous juggleries and wonders, 
and open his way to the attainment of the highest 
station, honors and wealth. The avidity showed 
by this mercenary man for the acquirement of 
this power, is a striking evidence of the real dis- 
interestedness and humility of the Apostles. Pos- 
sessed of that endowment, which Simon coveted 
as the key to wealth and preferment, they con- 
tinued poor and humble. Their miraculous gifts, 
and the power of conferring them upon others, 
were never perverted to their own convenience, 
aggrandizement and gain ; but applied as a sacred 
trust, with all fidelity, to the one great object of 
promoting their Redeemer's kingdom and glory. 

It is common for the worldly and covetous to 
measure others by themselves, and to suppose 
that- the bribe that would prove to them irresisti- 
ble, must be equally alluring to every heart. T >Ye 
find Simon acting on this principle, offering the 
Apostles money, and saying, " Give me also this 
power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may 
receive the Holy Ghost." 

But how was he thunderstruck when the holy 
indignation of the Apostle Peter bursts forth in 



236 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

the startling and withering rebuke, " Thy money 
perish with thee, because thou hast thought that 
the gift of God may be purchased with money ? 
Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter : for 
thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Re- 
pent, therefore, of this thy wickedness ; and pray 
God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may 
be forgiven thee. For I perceive that tnou art in 
the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of in- 
iquity." 

The strong expression of the Apostle, " Thy 
money perish with thee/' we are not to regard as 
an imprecation, or as a wish on his part that Si- 
mon might be a castaway ; but rather as an em- 
phatic warning to the deluded man of the danger 
in which he stood. He was in imminent jeopardy 
of perishing, together with his corruptible trea- 
sure. So far from being permitted to indulge a 
hope of the Apostleship, he must know that he is 
destitute of any share whatever in the grace of 
the Saviour. Although he had received Christian 
baptism, he was utterly devoid of Christian holi- 
ness and hope. He had, in truth, no part or lot 
in the rich blessings of the Gospel, but remained 
in the bitterness and malignity of his unconvert- 
ed, sinful nature, a very bond slave of iniquity. 
And so atrocious was the thought of his heart, 
that although the Apostle exhorted him to re- 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 



237 



pent, he dares not speak confidently of his for- 
giveness. 

From early Church history, it would appear 
that Simon never did truly repent, but returning 
to his old trade of sorcery, and becoming an open 
enemy of the Gospel, died as he had lived in the 
bond of iniquity. At any rate, he has given a 
perpetual name to a most flagitious practice ; the 
buying and selling of holy offices and ecclesiasti- 
cal trusts being known even to the present day as 
Simony. He stands on the Gospel page, like the 
unhappy Ananias, a warning to them that would 
make gain of godliness. 

To how many of those who suffer themselves 
to be blinded by the god of this world, to the 
neglect of a higher and better portion ; to how 
many, who, in their eager pursuit of riches, vio- 
late the law of God or lose sight of the kingdom 
of heaven, might the warning be addressed, which 
broke so overwhelmingly upon Simon, the magi- 
cian, " Thy money perish with thee !" l^atever 
the success of the plans of the worldling, however 
large a heap he may manage to gather, unless 
arrested in his course by timely repentance, his 
soul and his money will perish together. A mise- 
rable equivalent is that for which the covetous 
man parts with the heritage of a blessed immor- 
tality. Let ours be all that avarice could crave, 



238 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

and what will it avail us, if at last owner and 
treasure perish together ? 

Neither let us forget, beloved, that we have no 
part or lot in the matter of salvation, except our 
hearts be right with God. What an address was 
that of Peter to a professed believer in Christ ? 
" Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter, 
for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." 
Simon might call himself a servant of God, but 
the Spirit denounced him as a servant of Mam- 
mon. He was still, spite of his baptism, in the 
gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity — in a state 
deplorably wretched and hopeless — offensive to 
God, and tending to destruction. To make us 
acceptable to our heavenly Father, divine grace 
must create us anew in righteousness ; must 
cleanse and sanctify our hearts; work in us a 
godly sorrow for and hatred of sin, shed abroad 
within us the love of God, inspire us with a de- 
sire for holiness ; make us willingly obedient, 
humble and believing. Except the Spirit of God 
thus change the heart and purify the affections, 
we remain unforgiven, whatever our privileges, 
whatever our name. Baptismal water cannot 
cleanse the impenitent soul, or make alive the 
dead in trespasses and sins. Let those who sup- 
pose it to be efficacious, without regard to the 
faith and repentance of the candidate, explain to 
us how it was that Simon was still, after his bap- 



SIMON THE MAGICIAN. 239 

tism, in the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity. 
When the heart has been touched by the grace 
of God, is truly contrite for its sins past, earnest- 
ly desires to be saved with a holy salvation, to be 
rescued from the dominion as well as the punish- 
ment of sin, embraces confidingly the promises, 
and casts itself at Jesus' feet, crying " Lord, w r hat 
wilt thou have me to do ?" then are Christian 
ordinances a rich blessing, a seal of acceptance 
and pardon, a pledge of immortality. Then the 
voice of the Spirit answers, " Why tarriest thou ? 
Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, 
calling on the name of the Lord." But where 
there is no " answer of a good conscience towards 
God m " the putting away of the filth of the flesh, 
the outward oblation is profitless. The man con- 
tinues just what he w T as, unregenerate and un- 
blessed. 

But in what a miserable state is that man, be- 
loved, whether baptized or unbaptized, whether a 
false professor or an acknowledged worldling, un- 
to whom it may be truly testified by Christ's 
ministers, " Thou hast neither part nor lot in this 
matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of 
God." Thou hast no part in the present privi- 
leges of the Gospel, its pardon, reconciliation, 
adoption, grace. Thou hast no part in the pre- 
sent consolations of the Gospel, its peace, joy, 
hope, delight in God, patience under affliction, 



240 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

comfort in life, support in death. Thou hast no 
part in the everlasting rewards of the Gospel ; 
the approving smile of the world's great Judge, 
the resurrection unto life, the thrilling welcome, 
" Come, ye blessed, inherit the kingdom/ 5 the 
crown of righteousness that fadeth not away, the 
inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, the ever- 
increasing joys and brightening glories of the 
kingdom of God. How earnestly do we exhort 
such an one, " Repent, therefore, of all thy wick- 
edness, and pray God, if perhaps the thoughts of 
thine heart may be forgiven thee." Nay, w T e use 
not peradventures. It is our privilege to promise 
and assure full and free forgiveness to all those 
who truly repent, and unfeignedly believe the holy 
Gospel. Wherefore, let us beseech God to grant 
us all true repentance and his Holy Spirit, that 
the rest of our life hereafter may be pure and 
holy, and that we may come at the last to his 
eternal joy. Amen. 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 



ACTS IX. 40. 

"But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and prayed; 
and turn.'ng him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened 
her eyes : and when she saw Peter, she sat up." 

Our last notice of the Apostle Peter left him 
at the city of Samaria, where he confirmed the 
souls of the faithful disciples of Christ, and re- 
buked the profane ambition of the hypocritical 
Simon. After accomplishing the object of their 
mission to this city, the two Apostles return to 
Jerusalem. But their journey homeward was not 
unmarked by labors in their Master's cause. In 
the towns and villages through which they passed, 
they left a blessing behind them. Their Saviour 
went with them, and the savor of his name, 
spread abroad by their lips, was as the fragrance 
of precious ointment poured forth. Every jour- 
ney was a missionary tour, and every resting- 
place heard the glad tidings of salvation. And 
many, who, at first, looked with contempt upon 
these humble and travel- worn Galileans, had rea- 
son ere they parted to exclaim, " How beautiful 



242 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

are the feet of them that preach the gospel of 
peace, and bring glad tidings of good things !" 

In the interval of some three or four years 
between the return of Peter from this mission, and 
his next recorded absence from Jerusalem, took 
place what must have been a m'emorable and in- 
teresting interview, the meeting between himself 
and the Apostle Paul. At the time when Peter 
and John went down on their errand of love to 
Samaria, Saul was hunting the faithful members 
of Christ's flock with the ferocity of a beast of 
prey. "As for Saul he made havoc of the Church, 
entering into every house, and haling men and 
women, committed them to prison." And soon 
after the two Apostles had started from Jerusalem 
to visit the Samaritans, he also had gone forth, 
with equal zeal, but with how different a spirit. 
They went as missionaries of Jesus, he as a per- 
secutor ; rage in his soul, and threatenings and 
slaughter on his lip. While they were intent on 
scattering the good seed of the kingdom, publish- 
ing peace on earth and good will to men, emulat- 
ing the angels of light in their heaven-taught cha- 
rity : he pushes onward with remorseless speed 
and unpitying heart, like the very angel of death, 
a plague and terror to the servants of the Re- 
deemer. How opposite their spirit ! How far as 
the poles apart their respective dispositions, pur- 
poses and objects ! Are they not destined to be 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 243 

irreconcileably opposed to each other through life ? 
Is there a power that can ever combine these op- 
posite and uncongenial spirits in harmony and 
brotherly love ? That can unite them in the same 
communion, the same pursuit, the same heaven ? 
This would be indeed for the lion to lie down with 
the lamb, The Apostles had doubtless most ex- 
alted ideas of their Redeemer's power and grace, 
but could they have ventured to anticipate such 
a triumph ? They probably often prayed for de- 
liverance from this embittered persecutor, but was 
their faith strong enough to pray for his conver- 
sion? When he started forth to Damascus, breath- 
ing out threatenings and slaughter against the dis- 
ciples of the Lord, the Christians of Jerusalem 
trembled for their exposed and endangered breth- 
ren, and were earnest in their intercessions to God 
for them ; but could it have entered into their hearts 
that Saul w T ould enter Damascus, not as a proud 
persecutor, but as an humble believer ? That he 
would be known there not as the sanguinary Jew- 
ish bigot, the implacable, unrelenting enemy of 
Jesus Christ, but as the firm and zealous preacher 
of that very Jesus, the foremost champion of the 
faith which he had with infuriate violence aimed 
to destroy. Such a change would have seemed 
indeed too much to hope for. And when the con- 
verted Saul returns again to Jerusalem, the dis- 
ciples to whom his name had been such a terror, 



244 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

were at first slow to believe it. "And when Saul 
was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join him- 
self to the disciples: but they were all afraid of 
him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But 
Barnabas took him, and brought him to the Apos- 
tles, and declared unto them how he had seen the 
Lord in the way, and that he had spoken unto him, 
and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in 
the name of Jesus. And he was with them com- 
ing in and going out at Jerusalem." From Saint 
Paul's own statement in the Epistle to the Gala- 
tians it would appear that he met at that time only 
two of the Apostles, the others being probably 
absent on such labors as had previously taken 
Peter and John to Samaria. " Then after three 
years/' he tells us, (three years after his conver- 
sion,) " I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and 
abode with him fifteen days. But other of the 
Apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's bro- 
ther." The Apostle James had remained at Je- 
rusalem, as Bishop of that which was truly the 
mother Church. And it w r as the Lord's ordering 
that his servants Peter and Paul should now have 
an opportunity of full and fraternal conference, 
and consult together on the means of promoting 
their Redeemer's kingdom. Remarkable and in- 
teresting, I have said, must have been this inter- 
view, whether they had ever met before, we are 
not informed. If so, it must have been under cir- 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 245 

cumstances how different. Saul might have been 
one of the conclave before which Peter had made 
his bold defence of the Gospel, and by which he 
had been so vehemently threatened. Or as a 
deeply interested spectator, he might have stood 
by, marking with boiling impatience and ill-sup- 
pressed rage the undaunted composure of the ac- 
cused Christians. Whether they had personally 
met however or not, they had been well known 
to each other by reputation; the one, as a leading 
advocate of the faith of Jesus, the other, as one 
of its chiefest and most formidable enemies. But 
now they meet as Christians ; one in heart and 
mind, devoted to the same great object, ready to 
sacrifice life itself on the shrine of their common 
faith. The name of Jesus was alike precious to 
both, the Gospel of Jesus alike dear. Oh, the 
mighty power of grace divine to mould and melt 
into one, hearts once so estranged, characters 
seemingly so opposite and irreconcileable ! "With 
God nothing is impossible." The Apostle Peter 
had witnessed wondrous miracles wrought by his 
Almighty Saviour. He was himself enabled to 
work others no less amazing, in that Saviour's 
name. But did ever miracle appear to him so 
vast and astonishing as the change of Saul the 
Pharisee into Saul the Christian. Was he as much 
awed, and affected, and moved to gratitude and 
adoration, by beholding his Redeemer walking on 

12 



246 L^E OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

the storm-lashed sea, and commanding to the 
rushing blast and the foaming billow, " Peace, be 
still !" as by this evidence of his triumph over 
furious passion, malignant hostility and implaca- 
ble rage ? After all that he had witnessed, all 
that he had experienced of a Saviour's power, 
must he not still have been ready to exclaim, when 
exchanging affectionate greetings with his brother 
Apostle, "What hath God wrought ?" The start- 
ing tear in the eye that had once glared so furi- 
ously upon the persecuted saint ; the cordial grasp 
of the hand that had hurled the missile of death 
at holy Stephen; the fervent prayer and benedic- 
tion from lips that had clamored for the blood of 
Christ's faithful ones ; these must have thrilled the 
soul of Peter with emotions that words were in- 
adequate to express. One class of Gospel mira- 
cles still remain, brethren, to encourage our faith; 
its moral transformations, its triumphs over the 
stubbornness, selfishness, wickedness and evil pas- 
sions of men. And is there not enough in the 
Christian's heart to confirm his confidence in the 
energy of the Gospel and the power of Christ ? 
to teach him not to despair of his obdurate and 
impenitent brother ? But to pray trustingly, and 
labor hopefully for the bringing nigh unto God of 
" them that are far off?" 

Very cheering and refreshing must this short 
interview have proved to both of these great Apos- 



J 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 247 

ties. " As iron sharpeneth iron, so a man the 
countenance of his friend. " In the sweet coun- 
sel which they were permitted to take together, 
in the outpourings of their holy thoughts, and in 
the free interchange of their feelings ; in their 
communings concerning their divine Master and 
his Gospel ; in their consultations respecting the 
advancement of his kingdom upon earth, and their 
anticipations of his kingdom of glory, how rapid- 
ly and delightfully must these days of their so- 
journ under one roof have flown by ! Very vivid 
would be their conceptions, at such moments, of 
the happiness unalloyed and joy unspeakable, of 
the future meetings of the saints, in their Father's 
house, no more to part ! 

But this world is the scene of labor and trial, 
not of continuing felicity and tranquil repose, and 
after fifteen days, the Apostles separate : the de- 
parture of St. Paul from Jerusalem being accele- 
rated by the hostility excited among the Hellenist 
or Grecian Jews, by his bold testimony for Jesus. 
We next read of St. Peter as on a Missionary or 
Apostolic tour, through the Churches in the neigh- 
borhood of Jerusalem. After the departure of 
Saul from Jerusalem, the Christian Church was 
favored with a brief interval of tranquility, very 
conducive, under the blessing of God, to its growth 
and strength. The seeds of the Gospel, which 
had been scattered far and wide by the late per- 



248 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

secution, and which had taken root in many a 
soul, now sprung up under the genial influence of 
the milder sky, and the refreshing showers of di- 
vine grace, and yielded such rich and abundant' 
fruit that the wilderness and the solitary place re- 
joiced, and the desert bloomed and blossomed as 
the rose. " Then had the Churches rest through- 
out all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, and were 
edified ; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and 
in the comfort of the Holy Gfiost, were multipli- 
ed/ 5 # How wisely and how mercifully does the 
Lord attemper the seasons to his spiritual as well 
as his natural field, and cause the vernal breeze 
and the gladdening sunbeam, and the fertilizing 
rain, to succeed fierce blasts and frowning, wintry 
skies ! 

During this period of delightful peace, the 
Apostle Peter was engaged, as was just mention- 
ed, in what might be called an Apostolic visitation 
of the surrounding Churches. " It came to pass, 
as Peter went throughout all quarters/' or rather 
all Churches, " he came down also to the saints 
which dwelt at Lydda." That these visits of the 
Apostle, and his brethren were doubtless similarly 
engaged in different parts of the field of Christ, 
were very gratifying, comforting and edifying to 
the Christians there, we scarce can doubt. The 

* Acts ix. 31. 



THE RESURRECTION OP TABITHA. 249 

coming among them of a servant of the Lord, 
for whose station in the Church and personal cha- 
racter, they entertained the highest regard ; who 
could speak with authority ; confirm the testimony, 
and strengthen the hands of the resident pastors; 
administer to the baptized converts that imposi- 
tion of hands which we noticed in the account of 
the visit to Samaria ; and generally counsel, in- 
struct and exhort both ministers and people, must 
have been, even irrespective of the miraculous 
endowments of the Apostles, hailed with much 
joy, and have produced most beneficial results. 
This is the principle, brethren, of Episcopal su- 
pervision. And supposing even that it is not so 
sanctioned and recommended by Scripture as to 
make it obligatory upon the conscience, what can 
Christians gain by discarding this primitive ex- 
ample ? The difference we admit to be a great 
one between the Apostles, and those unworthy 
servants of God who have succeeded to a part of 
their responsible trust : but so is the difference 
great between the first evangelists and pastors, 
between such deacons as Stephen and Philip, and 
later laborers in the same field. While fully 
granting the vast difference between the inspired 
master-builders and overseers of the Church, and 
all who have come after, is it not the wisest and 
safest course to adhere to the principles upon 
which their labors were conducted, and conform 



250 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

to the pattern which is left on record in the Book 
of God ? Are we likely to improve on their 
model, and while w r e may find much imperfection 
to censure, and many defects to lament, in each 
order of the ministry ; is there not at the same 
time reason to hope that a moderate, faithful, af- 
fectionate, paternal oversight and supervision of 
the different portions of the Church of Christ, 
accompanied with such a progress among the 
Churches as*is here recorded, will not be without 
some blessing of God, and conduce to the edifica- 
tion, stability and improvement of the wdiole 
body ? That some such system is needful and 
expedient, we may fairly infer from the fact that 
when there is no lawful and recognized authority 
to which it is entrusted, it is often exercised by 
self-constituted visitors and voluntary overseers. 
This journey of the Apostle was marked by 
the performance of two astonishing miracles. 
The subject of the first, was a resident of the city 
of Lydda, " named Eneas, which had kept his 
bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy." All 
hope of recovery had been probably long since 
given up by himself and his friends. To this 
helpless and afflicted man, the tidings of Messiah's 
advent had been indeed good news. Expecting, 
perhaps, no bodily relief, he had found spiritual 
peace and consolation from the discovery of the 
grace of Christ. The sense of redeeming love 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 251 

and divine mercy now soothed the weary days, 
and long, sleepless nights of his protracted con- 
finement. A prospect of that better land, where- 
of the inhabitant shall no more say, I am sick, re- 
conciled him to the present trials and privations 
of his supposed incurable disease. With great 
desire, we may believe, did he desire to behold the 
Apostle of his Lord, whose fame had so often 
reached him, and much edification and comfort 
did he anticipate from the interview.. But it w r as 
to bring him another blessing that he scarce dared 
to hope for. As the Apostle approaches the couch 
of the afflicted man, he accompanies his saluta- 
tion of peace with the cheering words, " Eneas, 
Jesus Christ maketh thee whole : Arise, and make 
thy bed/' What music to the ears of the decre- 
pid and helpless sufferer ! He listens with a de- 
vout, believing heart. He attempts the exertion 
of which he knew himself, a moment before, in- 
capable. And newly-infused vigor accompanies 
the effort, and the bed-ridden paralytic rises im- 
mediately, full of energy, and performs the ap- 
pointed task. Oh. if they who are tied and bound 
by the fetters of sin, who want all strength for 
holy duties, all capacity for spiritual exercises, 
would but hearken with like faith to the message 
of Christ ! If, when it is said unto them, " Seek 
ye my face/ 3 their hearts w r ould but answer, 
" Thy face, Lord, will I seek !" if, instead of 



252 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

pleading inability, they would set themselves at 
once to obey ! divine grace would burst asunder 
their bonds, and inspire them with life and strength. 
If the servants of the Lord proclaim in your ear, 
" Jesus Christ maketh thee whole/' it will be en- 
tirely imputable to your own unbelief and refusal 
to improve his grace, if you are not made whole. 

The effect of this miracle was great. " All 
that dwelt in Lydda and Saron saw him, and 
turned to the Lord." The man himself was ge- 
nerally known, the hopeless and incurable nature 
of his disease w T as notorious, and few r there were 
that could resist this evidence of the truth of the 
Gospel. The success of the reJigion of Christ 
here was the more important and beneficial, be- 
cause Lydda was a noted seat of Jewish learning, 
schools being established there of much reputa- 
tion. Now, a better knowledge than ever was 
taught there before, animated these seminaries. 
Both teachers and pupils at Lydda, gladly sat at 
Jesus' feet, and listened to his divine teachings ; 
and the fertile vale of Sharon bloomed, as it w r ere, 
with new beauties, when the glad tidings of sal- 
vation pervaded its hamlets and blessed its cot- 
tages. He was now known, and loved, and wor- 
shipped in that delightful region, who is indeed 
" the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys." 

From his encouraging and successful labors at 
Lydda, the Apostle is sent for to visit the house 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 253 

of mourning, The minister of Christ, to whom 
is committed a charge of any extent, is never 
long without such a summons. Whatever else 
may occupy him, he must expect to be soon in- 
terrupted by a message from the chamber of sick- 
ness, or from the bed of death. Our people will 
not all repent at our preaching, but all must die. 
In this case, it was the decease of an exemplary 
Christian that occasioned the summons. " There 
was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, 
which, by interpretation, is called Dorcas ; tiiis 
woman was full of good works and alms-deeds 
which she did. And it came to pass in those days, 
that she was sick, and died : whom, when they 
had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 
And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, 
and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, 
they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he 
would not delay to come to them." 

We know not with what views the disciples at 
Joppa sent this pressing message to Peter. Some 
suppose that it was with the hope and expecta- 
tion that he would raise the corpse again to life. 
If so, great must have been their faith, for although 
Christ had restored the dead to life, no such mar- 
vel had yet -been wrought by his Apostles. It 
might have been, however, that without venturing 
to hope for such an exhibition of divine power, 
they greatly desired in their circumstances of dis- 

1.4, 



254 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tress* the Apostle's presence, and looked for a spe- 
cial blessing on his ministrations, at a time when 
all hearts were so solemnized and softened. The 
summons was readily and promptly obeyed. 
" Then Peter arose, and went with them. When 
he was come* they brought him into the upper 
chamber : and all the widows stood by him, weep- 
ing, and showing the coats and garments which 
Dorcas made, while she was with them." 

What more desirable tribute over the cold, 
pallid corpse, than the warm, gushing tears of the 
poor that have been befriended ; of the suffering 
that have been relieved ; of the afflicted that 
have been comforted ; of the ignorant that have 
been taught the things which accompany salva- 
tion. There lay, upon the bier, the mortal part of 
one who had not lived in vain. The hands, now 
paralyzed, had been unwearied in providing for 
the w T ants of the indigent. The feet, now motion- 
less, had never tired in journeys to the sick and 
suffering. Her's had not been the barren philan- 
thropy that talks much and does little ; that 
sa}^s to the cold and famishing, " Be ye warmed 
and filled, and yet gives them not the things that 
are needful for the body." She had been adorned 
with that most precious grace of true charity, the 
charity that vaunteth not itself, is not puffed 
up, seeketh not her own, but watches for occa- 
sions of doing good, and responds with generous 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 255 

sympathy to another's woe. Her humble, unob- 
trusive beneficence coveted no human praise, but 
it could not be hid. " When the ear heard her, 
then it blessed her ; and when the eye saw her, 
it gave witness unto her. The blessing of them 
that were ready to perish came upon her, and she 
caused the widow's heart to sing for joy/ 5 It is 
one of the blessed fruits of true Christianity, that 
it inspires this spirit of unwearied, ungrudging, 
disinterested kindness ; raises up in its track these 
affectionate, faithful, sympathizing friends of the 
poor and suffering; especially among that sex 
which is by nature more compassionate and ten- 
der, which has more leisure for deeds of charity, 
and more ready access to the homes, the hearts 
and the confidence of the children of sorrow. 
True Christian faith and love are the spring of 
this patient, unrequited benevolence. Such un- 
selfish, persevering labors are not the fruit of a 
self-righteous trust in the good works wrought, and 
of a claim of merit and reward therefrom, but of 
the love of Christ, constraining the redeemed and 
pardoned soul to cast its willing tribute at Jesus' 
feet. Dorcas was " a disciple ;" one who had not 
only the name, but the spirit of Christ. She was 
pledged by no vows, except those of her baptismal 
dedication, to the Lord. She was attached to no 
sisterhood. No trumpet was blown before her to 
attract admiration and applause. Her heart's de- 



256 - LIEE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, ■ 

sire and prayer was to glorify Christ, and to min- 
ister unto him in his afflicted people, Where 
there is the heart of Christian sympathy and be- 
nevolence, there is little difficulty about the way 
of exercising it. " The poor we- have always with 
us." Objects of distress abound on every side. 
And the meek, unpretending member of Christ, 
who is known in many an abode of poverty and 
destitution ; whose presence lights up, with un- 
wonted cheerfulness, the forlorn garret or obscure 
cellar where indigence crouches ; who is little no- 
ticed by the world, but whom the all-seeing eye 
observes ministering to the suffering body and the 
wounded spirit ; who reads the holy Scriptures to " 
the untaught invalid, and prays beside the bed of 
the desolate and the dying ; such an one, (and God 
be thanked that such there are,) is in very truth 
engaged in angels' work, a partaker in labors with 
the ministering spirits of heaven, a daughter of 
the Lord God Almighty, one who shall shine a 
bright jewel in ImmanueFs crown, when kings 
and conquerors are forever forgotten, or consign- 
ed to shame and everlasting contempt. Upon 
such an one God put unexpected honor in the 
miracle wrought at Joppa. How different 
this funeral scene had Dorcas been one whose 
whole heart had been engaged in selfish pur- 
suits and worldly enjoyments; had her solicitude 
and her labors been not to clothe the poor, 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 257 

but to adorn her own person ; had vanity and os- 
tentation been her ruling motives, instead of be- 
nevolence and faith ! What a contrast between 
her life, a blessing to so many ; and her death, so 
truly lamented, a bitter grief to all but herself: 
and the end cf such an one as the Apostle refers 
to when he says, ' ; She that liveth in pleasure is 
dead while she liveth/'' r hat revolting mockery 
would be rich apparel and glittering ornaments 
upon the livid corpse ? While the good works of 
a Dorcas follow her even to the coffin and the 
tomb, aye to the very throne of judgment, on 
which he that sitteth will say, " Inasmuch as ye 
did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, 
ye did it unto vie:' 

The Apostle Peter, obeying the impulses of 
the Spirit of God, applies himself to the perfor- 
mance of a miracle that shall surpass any that 
hath been wrought by the Apostles, since the Sa- 
viour's ascension. The weeping mourners are re- 
moved from the upper room, and Peter remains 
alone with the body of the saint. How fall of 
solemnity and intense interest this moment, both 
to the waiting disciples without, and to the Apos- 
tle within ! There lies before him the unbreath- 
ing form, fast locked in its dreamless slumber, 
Almost, we think, must a feeling of regret have 
thrilled his soul at the thought of disturbing that 
peaceful repose, and calling back the released spirit 



258 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

to the trials and conflicts of this troublous world. 
But it is for the glory of God, and the spread of 
the Gospel, and the salvation of many, that this 
faithful disciple, who had once seemed to finish 
her course with joy, should return to earth again. 
And although we hear nothing more of her after- 
life, doubtless it was spent like the years preced- 
ing, in the same works of faith and labors of love, 
so that she went at last to a fuller reward, a more 
glorious treasure and a brighter crown. 

By the side of the insensible clay, just ready 
to be consigned to kindred dust, the Apostle 
kneels, and pours forth the prayer of mighty, pre- 
vailing faith. And then, turning to the body, he 
exclaims, with unhesitating confidence, " Tabitha, 
arise." And to the words, although addressed to 
the dull, cold ear of death, there is instant re- 
sponse. The eyes that had been fast sealed, re- 
open ; the soul, sent back by him to whom all 
souls belong, to its former tabernacle, looks 
through its windows at the man of God bending 
over her ; she rises up, and sustained by his hand, 
is restored in full life to the amazed assembly. 
And now what interchange of cordial greetings ; 
what melting and overflowing of all hearts ; w T hat 
tears of joy, chasing away the tears of sorrow ; 
what ejaculations of praise; what fervent thanks- 
givings ; w T hat hymns of holy rapture ! And, if 
this were so, as surely it was, although death 



THE RESURRECTION OF TABITHA. 259 

would so soon part them again, what will be the 
measure of exultation, what the joy unspeakable 
and full of glory, at the resurrection of the just, 
when a mightier voice than that of Peter shall 
gather the whole company of the general assem- 
bly and Church of the first born, whose names are 
written in heaven; when there shall be meetings 
of those long severed, no more to part ; when the 
night of heaviness shall have forever fled, and the 
morn of joy shall break forth with a brightness 
that shall never be dimmed, and a glory that shall 
never fade ? " Blessed are the dead which die in 
the Lord." 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 



ACTS X. 



" Now, therefore, are we all here present before God, to hear all 
things that are commanded thee of God." 

Never had it been the privilege of the Apostle 
Peter, to testify the Gospel of Christ to a more 
attentive and serious audience, than that which 
was gathered to meet him in the house of Corne- 
lius, the Roman. The deepest interest pervaded 
the assembly, and expectation was raised to the 
highest pitch. Every ear and every heart were 
open. Not a single listless auditor, or unconcern- 
ed spectator there. To hear the tidings of the 
great salvation, was to them a new thing, and a 
great thing. They felt the solemnity of their 
position as gathered before God ; as about to be 
addressed by his ambassador, on the momentous 
interests of the soul. They hearkened to the 
Gospel with a full purpose of obedience, only 
anxious to know the way of life, that they may 
pursue it ; eager, as soon as the door of the king- 
dom should be opened, to press into it. They 
felt, indeed, that they were receiving a message 
from the Almighty, and that, with the right recep- 



THE CONVERSION OP CORNELIUS. 261 

tion of that message, was connected their eternal 
happiness. What a privilege to the minister of 
Christ to address such an auditory ! And what a 
contrast between that serious and anxious com- 
pany, and many a congregation since assembled, 
ostensibly for the same object ! 

And most affecting and interesting was this 
occasion to the Apostle Peter, for other consider- 
ations, besides the manifest and reverential atten- 
tion of his hearers. Not even at Petecost, did he 
stand up to preach the Gospel, with deeper emo- 
tion. For the first time, was Christ now to be 
proclaimed to the Gentiles. For the first time, they 
that had been hitherto aliens from the common- 
wealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants 
of promise, were to be invited to the Saviour of 
lost men. " The mystery,'"' as it is often called, 
or hitherto secret purpose of God, " to make the 
Gentiles fellow-heirs, and partakers of the promise 
by Christ/' had not yet been fully unfolded. Jew- 
ish prejudice and bigotry were loud in their de- 
nunciations, and bitter in their opposition to the 
extension of the blessings of Messiah's kingdom 
to the Gentiles. And the Apostles were all Jews, 
trained up in the same school of national pride 
and religious bigotry, and had much to unlearn 
ere they could appreciate the enlarged benevo- 
lence and expansive spirit of the Gospel. It was 
slowly and gradually that the light broke in upon 



262 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

them, and they were enabled to enter into the 
fullness of redeeming grace, and labor heartily and 
zealously for the conversion of the hitherto des- 
pised and outcast Gentiles. 

In the choice of the Apostle Peter to begin 
this great and glorious work of evangelizing the 
heathen, we must observe the second remarkable 
accomplishment of the Saviour's promise, " I will 
give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of hea- 
ven." The first great fulfillment of these words 
was, when at Pentecost, Peter proclaimed a risen 
Saviour to his countrymen, the seed of Abraham, 
and thus opened to them the door of the kingdom. 
Now he was selected to open the same door to the 
Gentiles. His hearers were the first Gentile con- 
gregation, the first fruits of the vast harvest that 
Christ would gather out of every nation, and kin- 
dred, and people, and tongue. The work then 
auspiciously began, has never yet ceased ; and 
never will cease, until a converted world bows the 
knee to Jesus. Multitudes that no man can num- 
ber, of every nation under heaven, have followed, 
and shall continue to follow in the steps of these 
earliest Gentile converts. Though Israel be not 
gathered, yet shall the Saviour be glorious in the 
eyes of the Lord, and his God shall be his strength. 
" And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest 
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and 
to restore the preserved of Israel : I will also give 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 263 

thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest 
be my salvation unto the end of the earth.*' * 

The opening of his kingdom, who died for an 
apostate world, to the Gentile as well as the Jew, 
seems to us so fit, reasonable, accordant with the 
benevolence of God and the testimony of Scrip- 
ture, that we wonder that a spirit so contracted 
and bigoted as was then displayed, should have 
existed. And so, in a better and brighter age of 
the Christian Church, it will be a subject of as- 
tonishment, that, in the present day, there should 
have existed any opposition or indifference to the 
work of missions among the heathen, or any in- 
disposition to extend the blessings of the Gospel 
to every creature. The spirit of bigotry, the de- 
sire to monopolize the privileges of Christianity, 
indifference or aversion to the communication of 
its blessings to every class of society, and every 
kindred of the earth, are peculiar to no age. The 
Apostles and early Christians shared them, until 
they better learned from Christ the nature of his 
holy religion, free, as the vital air and gladdening 
sunbeam, to all who have inherited from Adam 
sin and death. 

With much emotion, therefore, we may well 
suppose, did the Apostle Peter enter upon this 
new, and yet untilled field of evangelic labor. 

* Is. xlis. 6. 



264 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

But the way had been made so plain to him, by 
direct revelation from God, that not a single doubt 
embarrassed his undertaking. The Lord, by a 
wonderful combination of visions, had prepared 
the way for this herald of Christ. 

The individual, chosen out of the Gentile 
world, to be the first recipient of this grace, 
claims, on many accounts, our attention. Well 
has he been styled " the Abraham of our calling/' 
holding, as the predecessor of the Gentile con- 
verts, a relation to us, not dissimilar to that of 
Abraham to the Jews. And like him who is call- 
ed the Father of the Faithful, his character is de- 
picted on the inspired page, as one peculiarly ad- 
mirable. " There was a certain man in Ceserea, 
called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called 
the Italian band, a devout man, and one that 
feared God with all his house, which gave much 
alms to the people, and prayed to God always." 
We may marvel, in reading the account of Cor- 
nelius, at the choice of the first Gentile disciple 
from the military profession, and from the iron 
soldiery of victorious Rome. We might marvel 
yet more to read the description of such a man in 
such a position. How brightly shines the cha- 
racter of this Roman warrior ! He is represented 
to us as " a devout man,''' a liberal benefactor of 
the poor, a maintainor, like his prototype Abra- 
ham, of family religion, and a man of prayer. 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 265 

And all this is said of one nurtured in heathenism, 
trained in a camp, surrounded by a fierce and 
brutal soldiery, and familiar with the battle-field. 
Surely, if in such circumstances a Roman centu- 
rion could fear and worship God, there can be no 
force whatever in the excuses we so often hear 
from men in Christian lands, for their irreligion. 
Led by the Providence of God, to the land of Pales- 
tine, and placed in garrison at the city of Ceserea, 
Cornelius had enjoyed an opportunity of becom- 
ing acquainted with the religion of the Jews. 
Convinced that Jehovah, the object of their ado- 
ration, was the one living and true God, he 
renounced his national idolatry, and became a 
proselyte to Judaism. And thus following honest- 
ly the light vouchsafed him, and embracing the 
truth so far as it was made known, he was trained 
and ripened by divine grace for fuller knowledge, 
and brighter discoveries. For in God's dispensa- 
tions it is ever true, " Unto him that hath shall be 
given/' Of the sincerity and conscientiousness 
of this Roman proselyte, none that knew him 
could doubt. He was evidently intent upon serv- 
ing God faithfully, and complying with every pre- 
cept of the faith which he had adopted. 

Cornelius had devoted a day to more than 
commonly earnest devotion, accompanying his 
prayers with fasting. And about the ninth hour, 
when the day was declining, a bright and glorious 



266 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

vision lightened the solitude of his closet. A man, 
or a being in human form, but of unearthly dig- 
nity and splendor, stood before him in bright 
clothing. The warrior, who had never feared or 
shrunk in the day of battle, trembled at the sight of 
so strange and unexpected an apparition, and 
could only ejaculate in broken accents, " What is 
it, Lord ?" He receives a reply most encourag- 
ing. " Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine 
alms are had in remembrance before God. Send, 
therefore, to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose 
surname is Peter ; he is lodged in the house of one 
Simon, a tanner, by the sea side : who, when he 
cometh, shall speak unto thee." 

Let us not fail to observe in this benignant ad- 
dress to the astonished Cornelius, the mention of 
his prayers and his alms, as having come up to- 
gether for a memorial before God. This Centu- 
rion's religion was not of a one-sided, partial sort. 
There are some persons who content themselves 
with acts of devotion, and are apparently devout 
and prayerful, but whose hands are not freely 
open to the claims of the Gospel and the neces- 
sities of the poor. There are others who consider 
their liberal benefactions and charities as securing 
to them the divine favor, and feel that they can 
safely dispense with religious fervor and devo- 
tional duties. But to be acceptable to God, and 
profitable to ourselves, prayers and alms must go 



THE CONVERSION OE CORNELIUS. 267 

together, so far as God has given the ability. To 
be cold-hearted and indifferent to the progress of 
the Gospel, and the wants of the indigent and 
suffering, would indicate that we pray to little 
purpose, since so destitute of the mind that was 
in Christ Jesus. While on the other hand, our 
alms and offerings will profit us nothing, except 
as presented in a spirit of humility and prayer to 
God. The fervent suppliant retires from the 
throne of grace, with a feeling heart and a liberal 
hand. This is part of God's gracious answer to 
his petitions. The cheerful giver draws near to 
that throne with a more confiding spirit and a 
stronger faith. And thus, prayers and alms 
united, promote the growth of the soul in holiness 
and love, come up as a memorial before God, and 
draw down his abundant blessing. 

But some at the present day, might be ready 
to ask, after this description of the character of 
Cornelius, what need to send to a Christian minis- 
ter for further instruction ? What lacks he yet ? 
Why is not such a man good enough and safe 
enough without hearing the Gospel, and becoming 
a Christian ? Many there are, doubtless, now, 
brethren, who would think it wholly superfluous 
and unnecessary. Many there are now, w 7 hose 
characters would ill bear comparison with that of 
this devout and benevolent Roman, who consider 
themselves well enough, and good enough, and safe 



268 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

enough, without having qtnything to do with Christ. 
Many there are, who so far from sending from 
Ceserea to Joppa, that they might hear a Gospel 
sermon, will not take the trouble to enter the 
sanctuary of God, that adjoins to their own 
dwelling. And yet, these neglecters of a Gos- 
pel, brought to their very doors, think themselves 
entitled to divine favor, and dwell in seeming se- 
curity. But how different the judgment of Al- 
mighty God in this matter ! He sends an angel 
to Cornelius, so upright, exemplary, charitable and 
devout a man, with the message,." Send to Joppa, 
and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter. He 
shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do." So that, 
in the sight of God, it was of great importance 
that Cornelius should listen to a Christian preacher, 
and learn from him what God required. Of such 
importance was it, that it was worthy enlisting an 
angel's powers, to bring the teacher and the hearer 
of Christianity together. Nay, we find the angelic 
^message afterwards repeated in Peter's account of 
the vision, with a variation of expression that 
renders the matter infinitely momentous. " Send 
men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname 
is Peter ; who shall tell thee words whereby thou 
and all thy house shall be saved" # So that sal- 
vation hung upon this interview ; and Cornelius, 

* Acts xi. 13, 14. 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 269 

with all his moral excellence, and his spirit of de- 
votion, was to be saved through Christ alone. 
Certainly, here is an exhibition of the Divine 
will, that ought to startle and awaken from their 
fatal indifference, the many around us w T ho think 
it no matter of importance whether a man be a 
Christian or not ; who suppose they can treat 
Christ's Gospel as they will ; that they can attend 
to it or let it alone at their pleasure ; who consi- 
der union with the Christian Church as no more 
important, if, indeed, so much so, as union with a 
beneficiary society. Very perilous must be this 
strange apathy to the revealed will of God. 
Without pretending, or wishing to pronounce upon 
the manner, in which God will or can extend his 
mercy to those who are wholly cut off from the 
knowledge of his truth, it is from this history as 
clear as noon-day, that where the Gospel is ex- 
tended, and men may know it, it is the one exclu- 
sive way of salvation. And this common spirit of 
indifference, brethren, this unconcern of men to 
whom God's richest gift is extended, as to whe- 
ther they embrace it or not, is a sad, a distressing, 
an appalling thing. There is reason to shudder, 
and to tremble, and to weep for these careless 
multitudes who are going down to the grave, and 
the dark eternity beyond, under so great a delu- 
sion. They may say, " Peace, peace, but there is 
no peace/' Christ himself hath uttered it, the 

13 



270 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. . 

faithful and the true witness, " He that believeth 
on the Son, hath everlasting life : and he that be- 
lieveth not the Son, shall not see life, but the 
wrath of God abideth on him." And sooner shall 
earth and heaven pass away, than one jot or one 
tittle of his words shall fail. Oh, we are tempted 
to wish for a thunder-peal to awaken these deluded 
slumberers from their fatal dreams, or for an angel 
from heaven, or for a lost spirit from hell, to be 
sent to warn them. But God hath given them his 
word : and hath said, " It is enough/' " If they 
hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will 
they be persuaded though one rose from the 
dead." 

The Lord showed his favor towards Cornelius, 
not by saving him without the Gospel, on account 
of his good deeds, but by sending him the Gospel. 
The reward of his conscientious obedience, was 
the opportunity to hear of a Saviour's grace and 
the invitation to Jesus. God so favorably regards 
his alms and his prayers, that he will not suffer 
him to be ignorant of the way of salvation through 
a crucified Redeemer. This is the manner of 
God's dealing : this the divine estimate of the 
riches of Christ : this the boon from heaven, to 
be invited to the cleansing fountain of Immanuel's 
blood. Oh, how strange and how sad the unbe- 
lief, and hardness of heart, and indifference to the 
things eternal, that wholly annul to such multi- 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 271 

tudes within the sound of the Gospel, its incalcu- 
lable preciousness. 

The same great Disposer of events, Head over 
all things to his Church, who, by the angelic vi- 
sion, was preparing the first Gentile converts to 
welcome the Gospel, was, by another supernatural 
vision, preparing his Apostle to preach to them 
that Gospel. On the day after the appearance to 
Cornelius, while his messengers are approaching 
their place of destination, " Peter went up upon 
the house-top to pray, about the sixth hour/' The 
flat roofs of the eastern houses were often used as 
the places of religious retirement. A trance came 
over the Apostle during his devotions ; and a vi- 
sion appeared to him of the opened heavens, " and 
a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had 
been a great sheet, knit at the four corners, and 
let down to the earth : wherein were all manner 
of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, 
and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And 
there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter, kill and 
eat." But such a command was entirely repug- 
nant to the feelings of the Apostle, educated in 
strict conformity to the Law, and taught to observe 
the Mosaic distinction between the animals that 
were classed as clean and unclean. He accord- 
ingly responds : " Not so, Lord ; for I have never 
eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And 
the voice spake unto him again the second time : 



272 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

What God hath cleansed that call not thou com- 
mon. This was done thrice ; and the vessel was 
received up again into heaven. Now, while 
Peter doubted in himself what this vision which 
he had seen should mean, behold, the men which 
were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for 
Simon's house, and stood before the gate, and 
called and asked whether Simon, which was sur- 
named Peter, were lodged there/' Thus was the 
explanation ready of the vision. The Providence 
of God, as it so often does, interpreted his word 
and his will. They that look in a spirit of humble 
dependence for divine direction will be oft en- 
abled to perceive the guiding pillar ; and the ear 
that is obediently open to divine behests will hear 
a voice behind it, saying : " This is the way, walk 
thou in it." 

The strangers at the gate were unaccustomed 
visitors. One of them wears the armor of a Ro- 
man soldier. And the first emotion of the inmates 
of the house might have been one of alarm, in 
those days of oppression and violence. But their 
errand is soon explained — a strange errand, in- 
deed. A Roman centurion, sending for an Apos- 
tle of Christ, to come unto him with pressing ur- 
gency ! The Spirit intimated to Peter that he 
should immediately comply with the call. And 
indeed, without such intimation, he would scarce 
have hesitated. For what objection could his 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 273 

Jewish prejudices start, that would not be at once 
and sufficiently answered by the vision that he 
had just witnessed. There he was taught that the 
restrictions of Judaism, which had been divinely 
intended, and had for ages served as a barrier be- 
tween God's chosen people and the heathen, were 
now to be done away. The partition wall was 
to be broken down. The burdensome yoke of the 
ceremonial law was to be taken from off the neck. 
The outcast and despised Gentiles were to be 
brought into the kingdom. God had appointed 
to cleanse and hallow, what Israel had so long 
counted common and unclean. Henceforth there 
should be one fold under one shepherd. In Christ 
Jesus there should be no longer Jew or Gentile, 
male or female, Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, 
but Christ should be all, and in all. 

Cheerfully, therefore, and with praise to God, 
the Apostle complies with the invitation, and sets 
forth with the messengers of Cornelius, tow r ards 
Ceserea. His approach was eagerly anticipated. 
"And Cornelius waited for them, and had called 
together his kinsmen and near friends. " Trans- 
ported with joy at the sight of the expected am- 
bassador from God, the Roman officer, accustom- 
ed to receive the most deferential tokens of obe- 
dience and respect, is in a moment himself pros- 
trate before the Apostle. A strange sight ! A 
centurion of the Italian band at the feet of a poor 



274 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Jew ! But Peter endured not for a moment such 
reverential obeisance, in itself unseemly to be 
rendered to a mortal, and so liable to abuse. He 
instantly raises Cornelius, saying, " Stand up ; I 
myself also am a man/' 

We have had very frequent occasion, in review- 
ing this Apostle's life, to notice the wonderful con- 
trast in every respect, of his doctrine and de- 
portment, with those of his pretended successors, 
the Bishops of Rome. And on this occasion, his 
prompt and unqualified rejection of the homage 
tendered him by Cornelius, is in marked and ma- 
nifest opposition to that high-vaulting ambition 
and excess of pride, which not only receives the 
lowliest prostrations as its due, which hath often 
placed the Pontifical foot upon the neck of princes 
and sovereigns, which extends it for the salutation 
of the kneeling devotee, but which even permits 
and receives complacently, titles and ascriptions 
that belong to God alone. 

A few words suffice for mutual explanations, 
and rehearsal of those divine manifestations that 
had been the means of bringing together the pre- 
sent assembly. And then the Apostle, after recog- 
nizing his God as no respecter of persons, but as 
graciously regarding those in every nation who 
fear Him, and work righteousness ; (a blessed 
truth, of w T hich his present mission to the Gen- 
tiles was bright and conclusive evidence,) ad- 



THE CONVERSION OE CORNELIUS. 275 

•dresses himself to his work as an Evangelist. He 
testifies with plainness and brevity the mission, 
manner of life, miracles, crucifixion and rising 
from the dead of the Lord Jesus. He declares 
him to be the appointed Judge of quick and dead, 
and announces the great and glorious doctrine of 
" remission of sins'" to all who truly believe in 
him. The words of Peter are heard, as the Gos- 
pel ought to be heard by dying sinners. They 
are received as summer showers by the parched 
and thirsty earth. They are truly good news 
from a far country — grace superabounding 
where sin hath abounded — glad tidings of great 
joy— liberty to the captive — life from the dead. 
And as the Apostle enlarges upon the delightful 
theme, the Spirit of God attests the w r ord which 
he delivers, and crowns the work. " While Peter 
yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all 
them which heard the word/' The Spirit came 
upon them, not only in his softening, sanctifying, 
sealing influences upon the soul, but in those ob- 
vious and miraculous gifts, to which we find in 
the Xew Testament such frequent reference. 
Pentecost was renewed, and these first fruits of 
the Gentiles shared in those tokens of the Spirit's 
power, which had been before vouchsafed to their 
Jewish brethren. To those of the circumcision 
who had accompanied Peter thither, it was a sub- 
ject of great astonishment, that on the Gentiles 



276 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

also should be poured out the gift of the Holy- 
Ghost. They had now to learn the freeness of 
God's mercies to all mankind. But the evidence 
of the blessing was not to be gainsayed. " For 
they heard them speak with tongues and magnify 
God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid 
water, that these should not be baptized, which 
have received the Holy Ghost as well as we ? 
And he commanded them to be baptized in the 
name of the Lord/' And thus were gathered 
into Christ's garner the first sheaves of the great 
Gentile harvest. 

It may be well, before leaving this narrative, 
to observe how utterly inconsistent it is with the 
notion that the only baptism, that should continue 
in the Christian Church, is the baptism of the 
Spirit, without the use of the element of water or 
any external sign. Such an idea has not the least 
Scriptural foundation. And had we only the pre- 
sent passage before us, how could we hesitate to 
deny it ? Cornelius and his friends were baptized 
with the Holy Ghost, during the preaching of 
Peter. And so far from the Apostle thence con- 
cluding that they needed no other baptism, it is 
the very argument which he uses why they should 
be forthwith baptized with water. Who could 
forbid water, when the Spirit had already come 
down upon them ? And, yet, this opinion would 
forbid water, because the Spirit had been vouch- 



THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 277 

safed. When will men be satisfied to learn humbly 
from God ? 

The Holy Ghost crowned Peter's labors, on 
this memorable day, with his extraordinary and 
miraculous gifts. Those he no longer vouchsafes 
to men. But there are still more precious in- 
fluences of the Spirit, pledged to accompany the 
truth as it is in Jesus, unto the world's end. And 
through those influences it is that the Gospel is 
alway made the power of God unto salvation to 
them that believe. From the promise of those 
saving influences it is alone that we testify with 
hope and encouragement the word of Christ. Rob 
us of this promise, and our hands hang down ; our 
tongue falters. We also trust to " preach the 
Gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down 
from heaven/' But, oh, beloved, to cherish and 
secure this precious bestowment, it needs that you 
hear the word as these Gentiles at Ceserea heard 
it. The same earnest expectation of a blessing ; 
the same anxiety to know the will of God ; the 
same solicitude for eternal life ; the same willing- 
ness to close in with the offers of mercy ; like at- 
tention, seriousness and reverence, will not fail of 
like result. Upon such of our hearers the Holy 
Spirit will come down as upon Cornelius and his 
friends ; and though he impart to them no gifts of 
miracles and tongues ; yet will he melt them into 
penitence ; arouse them to exertion ; draw them 
13 * 



278 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

to the Saviour of the lost, and fill them with joy 
and peace in believing. And why, brethren, can 
it not be so ? Is the Gospel less precious, the in- 
terests of the soul less momentous, damnation less 
fearful, heaven less desirable to you than to them ? 
Oh, then, receive with meekness the engrafted 
word, which is able to save your souls. God 
grant that unto you it may prove a savor of 
life unto life. 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 



ACTS. XII. 6, 1. 

"And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same 
night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with 
two chains; and the keepers before the door kept the prison. 
And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light 
shiued in the prison ; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised 
liim up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell from off 
his hands." 

The persecution of the Church by the Jewish 
priests and rulers would seem to have ceased, or 
greatly slackened, after the conversion of Saul of 
Tarsus. But this was by no means owing to any 
relenting of spirit, or diminution of hostility. On 
the contrary, the same rancor towards the cruci- 
fied Jesus and his adherents inflamed their breasts, 
and burned as fiercely as ever. And when an un- 
scrupulous tyrant was anxious to secure popular 
favor, no surer method presented itself than to 
oppress and persecute the Christian community. 
Herod Agrippa, grandson of that Herod the Great 
who had sought the life of the infant Saviour, 
nephew of Herod the Tetrarch by whom John the 
Baptist had. been beheaded, and brother of the in- 
famous Herodias, the instigator of that act of cru- 



280 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

elty, was now the ruler of Judea : high in favor 
with the Roman Emperor Claudius, and lately pro- 
moted by him to regal dignity. He is described 
in history as a great zealot for the Mosaic law, 
and much inclined to gratify and court the influ- 
ential Jews ; and thus he became a ready and 
willing instrument of their implacable hatred 
against Christianity. To such a man persecution 
was a pastime, and the shedding of innocent blood 
an act of policy. And he thought to accomplish 
his purpose of exterminating Christianity most ef- 
fectually, by striking down first the most distin- 
guished and eminent of the body, the chosen 
Apostles of the Lord. The importance of their 
labors and lives was well understood, both by 
friend and foe, and it was the maxim upon which 
persecutors acted for many centuries in their war- 
fare against the truth of Jesus, " Smite the shep- 
herd, and the sheep shall be scattered/' As the 
tallest trees of the forest attract the lightning, and 
are oftenest shivered by the bolt ; so for a long 
period pertained to the overseers of the flock of 
Christ the honorable distinction of being chosen 
out for the slaughter. And this well known fact 
is a powerful answer to those who would repre- 
sent, as the growth of human ambition, the primi- 
tive form of Church government, which it has al- 
ready occurred us to notice, and of which the 
Episcopal character, as early as the second cen- 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 281 

tury, is not denied. Surely there was little to ex- 
cite the desire for pre-eminence, when the sword 
was ready drawn to smite the occupier of so peri- 
lous a position, and the faggot kindled to consume 
the acknowledged Governor of the Church. That 
would have been a strange ambition that sought 
preferment at the cost of liberty and life, and was 
willing to bleed and to burn for the sake of a little 
brief authority. Truly pious men would never 
have lent themselves to the projects of ambition 
and self-aggrandizement, and hypocrites would 
scarce have coveted an office of so brief and pre- 
carious a tenure, and so obnoxious to the watchful 
eye of persecuting rage. And therefore we may 
consider the existence of that warfare against the 
chief pastors of the Church, which Herod Agrippa 
now began, as furnishing a conclusive reply to 
such insinuations. 

"Now about that time, Herod the King stretch- 
ed forth his hands to vex certain of the Church. 
And he killed James the brother of John with the 
sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, 
he proceeded further to take Peter also/' " It 
pleased the Jews ! " What a disposition must 
that be which delights in witnessing acts of injus- 
tice and cruelty, and is gratified at crimes commit- 
ed by others, which it has not itself the courage 
or opportunity to perpetrate ? Who was most 
guilty in the sight of God of the blood of this just 



282 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

man ? Herod, at whose command it was shed, or 
the leading Jews who so applauded and enjoyed 
the tragedy ? It will be no shield, indeed, to men 
in authority, that popular prejudice or madness 
encouraged them to wicked acts. But the ap- 
provers and favorers of such acts share before 
God in the guilt. To connive at sin, to delight in 
the sin of others, is to make it our own. It is an 
evidence that we are hindered from the same con- 
duct, not by conscience, but by circumstances. 
How much will the unpardoned sinner have to 
answer for in the way of other men's sins, to 
which his heart has secretly consented, or which 
his tongue hath openly approved ? 

The first of the Apostolic band w r ho sealed his 
fidelity to the Lord Jesus with his blood, was 
James the Greater, the brother of Johu. There 
is comparatively little recorded of him in the 
New Testament, but Herod's selection of this 
Apostle as his first victim is evidence that his name 
was prominent among his brethren, and that his 
labors had been signally blessed. It would appear 
as if the death of this eminent servant of Christ 
were, sudden, as well as bloody. There is an ab- 
ruptness, so to speak, in the narrative : " He killed 
James the brother of John with the sword ; " cut 
him off at a stroke, without notice or warning. 
For there is no mention, as in Peter's case, of the 
prayers of God's Church rising heavenward in his 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIYERAXCE. 2S3 

behalf, during the interval between his apprehen- 
sion and his execution. And we thence may con- 
elude that there was no time for such intercession, 
the first intimation of that Apostle's danger being 
the tidings of his violent death. And how differ- 
ent are God's ways from our ways! Of how much 
importance would appear to the Church at this 
juncture the life of such a man as James ? Yet 
he is permitted to be cut off. And while the com- 
parative]}' humble and unknown Tabitha is won- 
derfully restored from death to life, no such mira- 
cle brings back one of the chiefest of the Apostles 
to his evangglic labors. 

Herod found himself not mistaken in suppos- 
ing that this atrocity would be acceptable to the 
Jews, and encouraged by the evident favor with 
which it was received, he proceeded to seize an- 
other intended victim. No Apostle was better 
known at Jerusalem than Peter. None, we may 
suppose, except it were the converted Saul, was 
more obnoxious to the Jewish rulers. The ene- 
mies of Christianity regarded him as its foremost 
champion, a standard bearer of the host, one whose 
boldness and energy, zeal and fervor, ready elo- 
quence and miraculous gifts made him exceeding- 
ly respected and admired by the people. To cut 
him off would be, they supposed, indeed a blow to 
the infant Church. With general gratulation, 
therefore, is the intelligence welcomed by the 



284 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

priests and Pharisees, that this dreaded champion 
of the new sect is in custody ; that his death is 
determined ; and the hated sect of the Nazarenes 
are to lose this powerful leader. Greatly do they 
triumph in the anticipation of such a blow. No 
longer shall the voice of this fearless preacher of 
Jesus be lifted up like a trumpet. No longer shall 
admiring crowds gather round him to listen to his 
forcible appeals, and witness his astonishing mira- 
cles. Let one after another of the leaders of these 
sectaries be cut off; let Peter, above all, fall under 
the edge of the sword, and their confidence is 
strong in the utter prostration and defeat of the 
cause of Jesus. 

It seemed expedient to Herod to postpone the 
execution of his prisoner until after the celebra- 
tion of the Passover, and every precaution, that 
jealous vigilance could devise, was employed for 
his safe-keeping. "Then were the days of un- 
leavened bread. And when Herod had appre- 
hended him, he put him in prison, and delivered 
him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him ; 
(i. e., four bodies of four each); intending after 
Easter, (the Paschal feast), to bring him forth to 
the people. Peter, therefore, was kept in prison ; 
but prayer was made without ceasing of the 
Church unto God for him." Herod had no need 
to multiply his guards, and surround the prison 
with his soldiers. There is no disposition or de- 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 285 

sign on the part of the Christians at Jerusalem, to 
attempt a forcible rescue of their brother. The 
weapons of their warfare are not carnal, but they 
are mighty through God to the pulling down of 
strong holds, aye, and to the opening of prison 
doors. Little does Herod understand from what 
quarter the danger comes, and what instrumen- 
tality is at work to defeat his deep-laid plans. 
Were he informed that the fellow-disciples of Pe- 
ter were engaged together in fervent prayer for 
the Apostle's preservation, he would only have 
scoffed at the tidings. That supplications utter- 
ed by the despised Nazarenes, in their upper room, 
could interfere with his purposes, and set at 
naught all his precautions, would have seemed to 
him an idea most absurd. But there, though 
Herod knew it not, was the power at work that 
should unlock the prison doors, and baffle the 
armed keepers. Oh, the mighty efficacy of earnest 
believing prayer ! " The effectual, fervent prayer 
of a righteous man availeth much/' While Herod 
was plotting death to Apostles, and Jewish en- 
mity exulting in the anticipated downfall of the 
Church, while dungeon doors were locked and 
barred, and mail-clad warriors were keeping 
watch and ward over the fettered prisoner, the 
Church was praying. Christians were besieging 
the throne of grace with fervent entreaties. And 



286 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

which cause was strongest the event speedily de- 
clared. 

But let us not omit to notice that this very 
spirit of prayer and supplication was from God. 
He who purposed to deliver his servant out of the 
hand of his enemies, stirred up his people first to 
ask for this deliverance. The earnestness and 
faith, wherewith the disciples of the Lord Jesus 
importuned for this mercy, were themselves the 
beginning of the mercy. God's blessings to his 
Church are preceded by prayer, for prayer is 
part of the very blessing. The heart to ask is 
the pledge of successful asking. It is a token for 
good when the soul is enlarged in prayer, grows 
fervent and urgent, and exclaims, with the wrest- 
ling Israel, " I will not let thee go, except thou 
bless me." 

Of what countless blessings are we defrauded, 
brethren, by an unbelieving, prayerless heart ? 
" Ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask and 
receive not, because ye ask amiss." Unconverted 
men often express regret that they are without 
hope in Christ. Christians lament their imper- 
fections, omissions, evil tempers, unprofitableness. 
Parents mourn over the irreligion of their children, 
and near friends over the ungodliness of those 
most dear. But is not God accessible to the pe- 
tition that gushes warm and earnest from the 
anxious, believing heart ? Is he not ready and 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 287 

willing to do for us exceeding abundantly above 
all that we can ask or think ? Why are we not 
more intent on seeking, at his mercy-seat, what we 
feel that we so greatly need ? Can w T e say that 
we -have faithfully, perseveringly tried this mean 
of obtaining our heart's desire, and found it to 
foil? 

The expression here used respecting the sup- 
plications of God's people, " Prayer was made 
without ceasing" implies great intensity and fer- 
vor. It is the same word which is applied to 
the Saviour's prayer at Gethsemane. " And being 
in agony, he prayed more earnestly." The Church 
prayed for Peter now, in the spirit of Christ him- 
self, wrestling in his agony in the garden. Wer 
could not have more forcibly presented to us the 
depth and intenseness of their supplications. And 
thus was spent the brief season of delay between 
Peter's apprehension, and the time appointed for 
his bloody death, Whatever Herod intended by 
this delay, (probably, he was influenced by his 
scruples concerning the profanation of the feast, 
by shedding blood,) God intended thereby to give 
his people the opportunity of pleading before his 
throne for their endangered brother, and crying 
mightily unto him for help ; that the blessing 
might be so much the sweeter and more precious 
as an answer to prayer. 

But time passes on, and no arm is outstretched 



288 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

to save the Apostle, and now hath come the last 
night destined for him by his persecutors. It is 
the manner of God to wait until expectation is 
ready to fail. Isaac was not only bound upon the 
wood, but his father's arm is raised to smite, ere 
the voice from heaven arrests the blow. Pharaoh 
is permitted to pursue retreating Israel into the 
very midst of the Red Sea, ere the returning bil- 
lows overwhelm his host. Jesus is not only cru- 
cified, but buried ; the stone rolled to the door ; 
and the sepulchre sealed and guarded ; ere occurs 
the stupendous marvel of the resurrection. And 
so it will be when, as the end draws near, scoffers 
are proudly asking, " Where is the promise of his 
coming, for since the fathers fell asleep, all things 
continue as they were from the beginning of the 
creation ? " that the sign of the Son of Man will 
blaze in the opened heavens, and " the Lord him- 
self will descend with a shout, with the voice of 
the archangel, and with the trump of God." 

In the present case, according to human judg- 
ment, Peter's hours are numbered. The morrow's 
sun, as Herod and all Jerusalem, excepting the sup- 
plicating disciples, suppose, shall dawn on the spec- 
tacle of his execution. He himself probably expects 
nothing else than to follow his brethren, Stephen 
and James, in the blood-stained path of martyr- 
dom ; a path sanctified also and made dear by his 
Saviour's foot-prints. "And when Herod would have 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 289 

brought him forth, the same night, Peter was sleep- 
ing between two soldiers, bound with two chains ; 
and the keepers before the door kept the prison/' 
" Peter was sleeping" His brethren were wake- 
ful, spending the watches of the night in outpour- 
ings of prayer. The guards were on their watch, 
redoubling their vigilance as the time draws near. 
Herod himself, and the expecting scribes and 
priests, were perhaps kept awake by unquiet pas- 
sions, and hatred gloating over its anticipated tri- 
umph. But the object of all this commotion, the 
man reserved for the scaffold or the cross, is sleep- 
ing calmly and peacefully. Doubtless he had spent 
much of his captivity in prayer and communion 
with God. But now, having commended himself, 
soul and body, to the Keeper of Israel who neither 
slumbereth nor sleepeth, satisfied to glorify God 
either by life or death as He may see good, undis- 
turbed by anxieties, unterrified by fears, spite even 
of the fetters which chain him by each arm to a 
soldier at his side, Peter sleeps. " Thou wilt keep 
him/' says the prophet, " in perfect peace, whose 
mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in 
thee." What an image of that blessed security 
which is the lot of God's children, Peter slumber- 
ing in his dungeon, on the eve of his expected 
martyrdom ! No terrific visions haunt his repose. 
No gleaming sword flashes in dreams of the night 
before his eye, or gushing stream of purple blood 



290 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

thrills him with horror. He sleeps, as one safe in 
the secret place of the Almighty, secure in His 
pavilion. 

If our real condition here, beloved, be truly 
apprehended, it is only the pardoned disciple of 
Christ who can lie down calmly and peacefully to 
rest. Unforgiven sinner, how can you sleep se- 
curely when, ere the morrow dawn, you may wake 
in eternity — wake in torment and despair ? How 
can you place without anxiety and alarm upon 
your bed the form, that when the sun again bursts 
from the east, may be motionless in death ? Is it 
for you to sleep, who know not what shall be on 
the morrow ? whose sins are not blotted out ! 
whose soul is unprepared to meet God ! whom 
this very night may usher into the unearthly prison 
and the chains of darkness ! But if Peter's hope 
be yours, and Peter's Saviour be your rock and re- 
fuge, then you may repose peacefully and undis- 
turbed even in the time of danger and impending 
death, for who or what can harm you ? Even to 
die would be gain, and to be near the inevitable 
hour is to be near the kingdom of glory. 

But Peter's slumbers are interrupted in a way 
that himself and his keepers little expected. " And, 
behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him, and 
a light shined in the prison ; and he smote Peter 
on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up 
quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVER'ANC E. 291 

And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and 
bind on thy sandals : and so he did. And he saith 
unto him, Cast thy garment about thee and follow 
me. And he went out, and followed him, and wist 
not that it was true which was done by the angel ; 
but thought he saw a vision. When they were 
past the first and the second ward, they came unto 
the iron gate that leadeth unto the city ; which 
opened to them of his own accord ; and they went 
out, and passed on through one street ; and forth- 
with the angel departed from him." This deeply inte- 
resting narrative of the manner of the Apostle's de- 
liverance presents us with a most impressive picture 
of the benevolence and of the power of the angels 
of God. It is a scriptural truth, highly consolatory 
and animating, that those exalted and holy beings 
are employed by God in our behalf. " Are they 
not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister 
unto them that shall be heirs of salvation ?" The 
most obscure and humble of God's children are 
the objects of their kind protection, and affection- 
ate solicitude. And often they act as the Chris- 
tian's unknown and unsuspected friends and guar- 
dians. But this ministration in the ordinary Pro- 
vidence of God is made undiscernible to us, and 
probably for this among other reasons, lest the 
sight of their glory, and the knowledge of their 
offices of love, should attract to them that homage, 
adoration and trust, which to divert from the Su- 



292 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

preme God is idolatry and dreadful sin. But under 
the miraculous system which ushered in and con- 
firmed the revelations of God's will to men, angelic 
agency was occasionally made visible ; and the 
spirits of light were exhibited as God's messengers 
to his people, and as their deliverers in the time 
of extremity and danger. Thus appeared suddenly 
in the cell of Peter, one of the shining ones that 
are wont to stand before the throne. The gloomy 
dungeon is illumined with his celestial glory, the 
chains fall loosened from the Apostle's hands, and 
while the slumbering Peter himself is roused and 
wakened, a sleep more profound than that of na- 
ture settles upon the unconscious sentinels. The 
Apostle, scarce knowing what he does, obeys the 
directions of his heavenly visitant, and follows 
him forth. The ponderous iron gates of the prison 
swing open spontaneously; the watchmen, without 
as well as within, are overtaken with slumber ; and 
speedily the Apostle finds himself alone in the silent 
streets of Jerusalem. It accords well with the 
simple and truthful tenor of the narrative that we 
read, " He wist not that it was true which was 
done by the angel; but thought he saw a vision." 
No wonder that he could scarce persuade himself 
that an event so strange was indeed reality. No 
wonder that it was doubtful to his mind whether 
he waked or slept. Sometimes there is a state of 
mind not unlike this, on occasion of remarkable 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 293 

Providential deliverances, or of the soul's escape 
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious 
liberty of the children of God. " Is it so indeed/' 
the pardoned sinner is sometimes ready to exclaim, 
" that I. who was dead, am alive again ? Can ] 
really credit that I have passed from death unto 
life : that my sins are blotted out ; that there re- 
maineth no more condemnation ; that I can look 
up to God as my reconciled Father, and to Christ 
as my own, my accepted Saviour ? Does there really 
open before my ransomed soul this delightful vista 
of years to come spent in the happy service of my 
God, and beyond, an unending and glorious eter- 
nity ? What mercy undeserved to me a, sinner ! 
Can such joyful assurance be true ? Can such 
confidence be other than a dream ?" Exceeding 
great blessings, from their very greatness and pre- 
ciousness, thus often seem incredible, and from 
cftir very solicitude that they should be true, we 
almost fear to believe them. But God's benefits 
are so real, that soon every doubt will be dispelled, 
and the soul be enabled confidingly and joyfully 
to rest in its goodly portion. Peter soon perceives 
the truth of his deliverance. "And when Peter 
was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a 
surety that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath 
delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from 
all the expectation of the people of the Jews." 
While a company of Christians are engaged in 

14 



294 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

that earnest prayer which we have spoken of in 
the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, 
there is heard a knocking at the outer gate. Such 
a summons, at this hour of the night, and at this 
time of persecution, was fitted to alarm them. 
Might it not be the satellites of Herod seek- 
ing for fresh victims ? Soon the damsel that kept 
the door, having recognised the well-known voice 
of'Peter, returns without having opened it, to an- 
nounce the glad tidings. But her words seem 
those of a lunatic, rather than of a sane person. 
They had been praying, probably, for Peter's de- 
liverance, and yet could not credit that it had 
been really effected. The great and wondrous 
character of the mercy affects them, as it at first 
did Peter himself. But when the porteress per- 
sisted in the assertion, they said, " It is his angel :" 
that is, his spirit appearing, to announce to us, 
that he is no more of earth. Their impression, it 
would seem, was, that the Apostle had been dis- 
patched in the prison, as John Baptist before 
him; and that the disembodied spirit, wearing 
the semblance of the body in which it had dwelt, 
had come as a messenger of the event. This was 
a Jewish notion ; and, of course, their supposing 
such a thing, in the agitation of the moment, is 
not to be made an argument of its being permit- 
ted in God's Providence, 

But all doubt was soon dispelled by the 



THE MARVELLOUS DELIVERANCE. 295 

Apostle's admission into the astonished and de- 
lighted company. Here was truly a speedy and 
merciful answer following prayer. Here was 
strikingly fulfilled the words of the prophet — " It 
shall come to pass, that before they call, I will 
answer ; and while they are yet speaking, I will 
hear." What joy now fills each soul, and what 
praise bursts from every lip ! But the Apostle 
feels it now a duty to preserve that life whifch 
God, by His unexpected mercy, hath rescued 
from the jaws of destruction ; and he is compelled 
to shorten the gratulations of the interview. 
" But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to 
hold their peace, declared unto them how the 
Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he 
said, Go, show these things unto James, and to 
the brethren :" (the special mention of James the 
Less being on account of his office as Diocesan 
of the Church at Jerusalem :) " And he departed, 
and went into another place." 

The tidings of the morrow were as joyful and 
comforting to the Christians of the holy city, as 
they were vexatious and tormenting to the tyrant 
and his abettors. The deliverance of God's 
people, and the destruction of his adversaries, ever 
go hand in hand. When Christ triumphs, his 
enemies are made his footstool. The wrath of 
Herod burns fiercely at the disappointment, and 
vents itself upon the poor instruments of his op- 



296 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETEE. 

pression. "When Herod had sought for him, and 
found him not, he examined the keepers, and 
commanded that they should be put to death.''' 
He would not seem to give the least credence to 
the miracle, whether in his heart he believed it or 
not; and they who had been the ready, and it 
may be willing executioners of his cruel edicts, 
fall themselves under his wrath, and meet the 
doom which they were preparing to inflict. But 
Herod himself is dealt with by a higher than mor- 
tal sovereign, and soon perishes in a manner far 
more miserable. "Upon a set day, arrayed in 
royal apparel, he sat upon his throne, and made 
an oration unto them. And the people gave a 
shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of 
a man. And immediately the angel of the Lord 
smote him, because he gave not God the glory ; 
and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the 
ghost. But the word of God grew and multi- 
plied/ 5 Such was the issue of persecution of 
Jesus' Church. Behold Peter walking at liberty! 
See the scaffold stained by the blood of those who 
should have led him thither! And the tyrant 
himself, arrested in his career of persecution, filled 
with intolerable anguish, and made the food of the 
worm while life yet lingers in his tortured body ! 
" So must all thine enemies perish, O Lord. But 
let them that love him be as the sun when he 
goeth forth in his might." 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 



ACTS XV. 5, 6. 
" But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which 
believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to 
command them to keep the Law of Moses. And the apostles and 
elders came together for to consider of this matter."' 

For the space of some five or six years after 
the wonderful deliverance of the Apostle Peter 
from the dungeon of Herod, we find no mention 
of him in the Book of the Acts. After his release 
from the prison, he probably remained for a time 
in concealment, until the tyrant, being removed 
from earth by the fearful judgment of the Al- 
mighty, the storm of persecution ceased. Tradi- 
tion, often building on the sand, has attempted to 
fill this interval by a visit of the Apostle to Rome, 
and occupies him there with the foundation of 
the Roman Church, and the erection of that Pon- 
tifical see that was to rule the Christian world 
with a rod of iron. That Peter might at some 
time have visited the imperial city, and perhaps 
suffered martyrdom there, is a point which, how- 
ever doubtful, and unsatisfactorily proved, I have 
no particular anxiety to deny. The rejector of 
the usurpations of the Popedom may very cheer- 



298 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

fully admit the fact, if fact it be. It really makes 
very little difference in the scale of controversy. 
Peter might be conceded to have been there a 
hundred times, and still the advocate of Papal su- 
premacy is not one whit nearer the establishment 
of his case. But while I am not solicitous to deny 
that Peter might have at some time visited that 
city, and might have died there, there is no evi- 
dence whatever for transporting him to Rome at 
this particular period. Nay, there is much evi- 
dence to the contrary, especially the important 
fact, that St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, 
makes not the least reference to his brother 
Apostle, as the founder of their Church, or as in 
any degree connected with it. Total silence on 
such a point is hardly to be explained, as the 
Epistle was written some time after the Apostle's 
pretended visit, if there were any reality in the 
claim. Neither does it accord with St. Paul's 
statement in the Epistle to the Galatians, that all 
the Apostles plainly perceived that the gospel of 
the uncircumcision was committed unto him, as 
the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter. 
" For/' he adds, " he that wrought effectually in 
Peter to the Apostleship of the Circumcision, the 
same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles." 
This could scarcely have been their conclusion, if 
the Apostle Peter had already laid the foundation 
of the Christian Church in the great metropolis of 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 299 

the Gentile world, and, together with the fixing 
there of his Episcopal seat, exercised an undis- 
puted sovereignty over the whole flock of Christ. 
It is evident that his labors were mainly among 
his own countrymen, and that when absent from 
Jerusalem, he was chiefly occupied in preaching 
Christ to his dispersed brethren, the strangers 
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
Asia and Bythinia, to whom his first Epistle is 
addressed. And there is every reason to suppose 
that he was thus engaged, sowing the precious 
seed of the kingdom, during the interval of which 
we have spoken. 

We next read of him as present on the mem- 
orable occasion which had convened the Apostles 
and many of the brethren at Jerusalem, to settle 
a question that was then greatly agitating the 
Church. The part which he took in the proceedings 
of that assembly is, on more than one account, 
deserving of our attention. To understand it, we 
must briefly revert to the origin of this controversy. 

Among the churches embracing Gentile con- 
verts, Antioch was at that period the most noted 
and considerable. The Christian community in 
that city was the most numerous and prosperous 
of any beyond the bounds of Judea, and greatly 
had it been favored in the residence there, for a 
considerable time, of some of the most eminent of 
the Apostles and other teachers of the Church. 



300 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

From thence the first foreign missionaries were 
publicly and solemnly sent forth, and Paul and 
Barnabas had been recommended to the grace of 
God for the work which they fulfilled. There is 
every reason to suppose that the growth, piety 
and holy joy of this Church kept pace with its 
abundant privileges. But how exposed is the 
tranquillity of the Church of Jesus to be inter- 
rupted by restless passions and unholy attempts — 
sometimes by the arts of the ambitious and hypo- 
critical, and sometimes by the unscriptural doc- 
trines and unwarrantable practices of sincere and 
honest, but deluded men ? The root of bitterness 
springs up readily, even in the soil where Apos- 
tolic hands have planted and watered. The 
peaceful church of Antioch was thrown into sad 
confusion by certain self-commissioned intruders, 
who came down thither from Jerusalem, intent 
upon imposing on the converted Gentiles the bur- 
den of the Jewish ceremonial law. "And certain 
men which came down from Judea taught the 
brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after 
the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved." These 
men had professedly embraced the Gospel, but they 
had no just conception of its completeness and 
preciousness. They retained their old Jewish 
leaven of Pharisaical reliance upon the Mosaic 
ritual. They seemed to think the simple Gospel 
an insufficient foundation of the eternal hopes of 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 301 

men. and would render it stronger and broader, by 
incorporating with it the institutions of Judaism. 
Probably they argued thus: "By this plan you 
certainly must add greatly to the stability of your 
hope, You have Christ and his Gospel, as you 
had before ; and then you have besides the law of 
Moses to rest upon, so that thus assurance is ren- 
dered doubly sure." This is a mode of arguing, 
brethren, that has always proved specious and at- 
tractive to some minds ; the idea that the Gospel- 
is made % better, safer, stronger by some additional 
incorporations. This disposition has sometimes 
sought to improve it, by multiplying ceremonies, 
and exalting them to a level with the truth of 
God : sometimes to corroborate the foundation of 
the sinner's hope by human merits and virtues, 
and to represent our justification as not being ef- 
fected through faith on our part, but through faith 
and good works combined. And it is sometimes 
urged as a sufficient answer to objections to such 
schemes, " Why you have the work of Christ as 
before. We do not take that away. We are 
merely adding thereto." 

Nov/ let the person who is disposed to listen 
to such suggestions read with attention St. Paul's 
Epistle, to the Gaiatians. This very question it is 
which the Anostle there considers ; this very snare 
it is against which he warns. And how loudly, 
earnestly, emphatically does he warn ! We cannot 
14* 



302 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

study that Epistle, and consider it then so imma- 
terial whether men make their additions to Christ's 
Gospel or not. Thus does he exhort those who 
were inclined to submit to this assumption, and 
make themselves, as they fancied, safer, by adding 
circumcision to faith, as necessary to salvation. 
" Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith 
Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled 
again with the yoke of bondage. Behold I, Paul, 
say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ 
shall profit you nothing. Christ is become of no 
effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by 
the law; ye are fallen from grace."* Surely here 
is language that should startle those who would 
add to the foundation which God hath laid in 
Zion, and think thus to make it firmer. No, 
brethren, Christ is a sufficient Saviour, able to 
save to the uttermost all who come unto God by 
him ; and Christ, moreover, is an exclusive Sa- 
viour. To him belongs all the glory of every soul 
saved from death, and his glory will he not give 
unto another. There can be no partnership of 
the Saviour with the sinner, of Christ with the 
Church, of God with man. The relier upon forms 
and ceremonies must choose between his observ- 
ances, and the Lord Jesus, as the ground of his 
confidence. He cannot stand upon both. The 
self-righteous man must take either his own good 

* Gal. v. 1, 2, 4. 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 



303 



works, or the cross, as his plea before the Judge. 
He cannot piece out one with the other. For 
what is this attempt to add to the work of Christ, 
but unbelief in the value and efficacy of that 
work? Christ is not enough for the man. He 
must have something more to rest upon. And 
thus doing, he virtually deserts the Redeemer. 
He forsakes the ark. Its shelter seems to him im- 
perfect, and he seeks some other refuge. Whereas 
living faith takes Christ as " the Lord our righte- 
ousness," judges that "we are complete in him/ 5 
submits indeed with willing obedience to every 
command of Jesus, enters into covenant with him 
through his appointed sacraments, gladly receives 
the appointed pledges of his pardoning mercy, 
strives to follow the blessed footsteps of his most 
holy life ; faith works by love, works as diligently 
as if it were working for debt and recompence ; 
but as its reliance for salvation, knows nothing 
but Christ. Neither sacraments, however pre- 
cious, nor prayers, however indispensable, nor 
duties, however many and self-denying, nor good 
works, however acceptable to God. Nothing but 
Christ. " That i may be found in him, not hav- 
ing mine own righteousness, which is of the law, 
but that which is through the faith of Christ, the 
righteousness which is of God by faith. " This 
lich St. Paul and his fellow 



was the 



Gospel w 



laborers had been preaching in Antioch, to the 



304 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

great comfort, peace, and edification of the 
Church. And for this precious doctrine of evan- 
gelic faith, these zealots from Judea now at- 
tempt to introduce their plan of ceremonial justi- 
fication. No marvel that the great Apostle 
decidedly and boldly resisted the pernicious inno- 
vation ; and that we read in the history, "When 
therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissen- 
sion and disputation with them, they determined 
that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of 
them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles 
and eiders about this question.'"' 

There was, we read, " no small dissension and 
disputation " among the disciples on this matter. 
Dissension and disputation in the Church of 
Christ are much to be regretted, but a silent ac- 
quiescence in pernicious and unscriptural doc- 
trines is a far greater evil. We may mourn that 
the Church is agitated by controversies, but life, 
even with agitation, is better than death. Had 
there been no faithful witnesses for Christ to 
sound the alarm, when these corruptions of gospel 
purity were introduced, the enemy would have 
come in like a Hood, and truth would have fallen 
in the streets. The "truth as it is in Jesus 5 ' is 
the life of immortal souls. It is too precious to 
be lightly parted with, or supinely resigned to the 
assailant. If need be, the Christian must "con- 
tend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 305 

saints" And if driven thus to contend, as Paul 
and Barnabas were at Antioch, by the attempt to 
undermine Christ's Gospel under pretence of 
strengthening it, by substituting another founda- 
tion for the simple cross, or another mode of jus- 
tification than that by faith alone, the whole 
responsibility of evils that may ensue rests upon 
the heads of the innovators. They were the 
troublers of Israel, who then loudly and positively 
assured the penitent and believing Gentiles, 
" Except ye be circumcised after the manner of 
Moses, ye cannot be saved." 

It is to this occasion, and to this journey, that 
the Apostle alludes in the second chapter of the 
Epistle to the Galatians ; and thence we may 
the better gather his view of the importance of 
the controversy, and of the character of the men 
by whom it was originated. " Then fourteen 
years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with 
Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I 
went up by revelation, and communicated unto 
them that gospel which I preach among the Gen- 
tiles ; but privately to them which were of repu- 
tation, lest by any means I should run, or had 
run, in vain. But neither Titus, who was with 
me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circum- 
cised : And that because of false brethren " (or in 
spite of false brethren), "unawares brought in, 
who came in privily to spy out our liberty which 



306 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us 
into bondage : to whom we gave place by subjec- 
tion, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the 
gospel might continue with you.'*' 

These men, therefore, who intruded themselves 
into this Apostolic Church with so lofty a bearing; 
who undertook to correct the deficiencies of a Paul 
and a Barnabas, and to enlighten the darkness of 
their converts: who insisted upon the believing 
Gentiles being subjected to the bondage of the 
whole Jewish ritual, and told them that their faith 
in the Lord Jesus was insufficient for salvation, 
were in St. Paul's judgment not true brethren, but 
false, "unawares brought in," and abusing the un- 
suspicious confidence of their fellow disciples, " to 
spy out the liberty which they had in Christ Jesus." 
It might have been enough for the Apostle Paul, 
by a simple appeal to his own inspiration, and con- 
sequent possession of the mind of Christ, to have 
settled at once, and with authority, this vexatious 
dispute. But another course was preferable. These 
innovators had come down from Judea, probably 
from the Church at Jerusalem, towards which the 
Gentile Christians looked with great affection and 
respect, as in a manner their mother Church. They 
professed to speak in the name of that venerable 
Church. Their tone was loud and positive. Their 
pretensions arrogant and likely to impose upon the 
multitude. They claimed to be the mouth-pieces 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 307 

of the Church ; its true representatives. With 
whatever explicitness and conclusive evidence 
Paul and Barnabas might exhibit the truth of 
Christ, these persons would probably remain un- 
convinced, and would insinuate that there was an 
opposition between their doctrine, and that of the 
Apostles and the Church at Jerusalem. The most 
effectual way, therefore, to silence these agitators, 
and to strip them of their false assumptions, was 
for the Apostles and brethren to convene and pro- 
nounce their united decision. This mode w T as ac- 
cordant with divine wisdom, since the Apostle 
Paul tells us that " he went up by revelation/' 
Upon this errand, therefore, Paul and Barnabas 
went up to Jerusalem ; and their journey was made 
a source of edification and comfort to their fellow 
Christians on the way, by the good tidings which 
they spread of the wide conversion of the Gentiles. 
On their arrival, they were received with cordial 
hospitality by the Church, and the Apostles and 
elders, and they declared all things that God had 
done with them. But amid their joyful congra- 
tulations, and affectionate interchange of views 
and feelings, the same note of discord was struck, 
which had been vibrating with such harsh and dis- 
sonant sounds at Antioch. " But there rose up 
certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, 
saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, 
and to command them to keep the law of Moses." 



308 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Some of the Pharisees, who had professedly em- 
braced the Gospel, had, it seems, brought in their 
Pharisaism along with them. Their conversion 
had not been so thorough and sincere as that of 
their brother Saul. With him, " old things had 
passed away and all things had become new/' 
when he discovered the grace of Christ. But 
their spirit was essentially the same as before. 
They no longer belonged to the Jewish sect, but 
"they were still Pharisees in heart ; zealots for the 
Mosaic law ; putting ceremonies on a level with 
Christ, and really ignorant of the freeness and com- 
pleteness of the great salvation. And baptized Pha- 
risaism proved as dangerous and hostile to the 
' Gospel of Jesus, as ever did Jewish Pharisaism to 
Jesus himself. 

For the full hearing and decision of this grave 
question, "the Apostles and elders came together/ 5 
And it would also seem from the subsequent ex- 
pression, " the whole multitude/' that the people 
were also present, and whether or not they parti- 
cipated in the discussion, signified their deliberate 
approval of the sentence. For the circular letter 
which was sent forth to the churches was in the 
name of '-'the Apostles, and elders, and brethren/' 
thus establishing the right of the people or laity of 
the Church to be represented in her councils, and 
to assist in guarding the purity of her faith. It 
must have been a most interesting assembly. 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 309 

From different regions were gathered the Apos- 
tles and evangelists, the standard-bearers and 
leaders of the sacramental host. There were to 
be seen a number of those venerable men, the 
chosen attendants of our Lord while he was upon 
earth, who had now for twenty years, since his as- 
cension, been fighting manfully under his banner. 
Time must have traced its furrows on their brows, 
and the burden of constant labor and care must 
have bent their frames ; but their hearts were as 
full of fervor, zeal and love, as when they beheld 
their risen Saviour on the first memorable Easter. 
There were many others, who, on their testimony, 
had believed in a Saviour unseen by the bodily 
eye. There were laborious missionaries, like 
Paul and Barnabas, who had travelled many a 
weary mile to spread abroad the glad tidings of 
salvation. Men who had never before met face 
to face, but well known to each other by reputa- 
tion, and loved as well as known, now first ex- 
changed fraternal greetings. Truly, must such a 
meeting have presented to the observer a most 
impressive scene* and have. proved to those ga- 
thered there, a most affecting and refreshing sea- 
son, a lively emblem of the blessed assemblage of 
ail God's dispersed children in his kingdom of 
glory. 

In this meeting, we are drawn to the particu- 
lar consideration of the part taken by the Apostle 



310 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

Peter, and its history is one of great importance 
in this respect ; important as well in regard to 
what the Apostle did not do or say, as in regard 
to what he did. If, according to the pretensions 
of Rome, Peter were the appointed vicar or re- 
presentative of Christ on earth, and vested with 
a pre-eminent authority, and infallibility in the de- 
termination of all controversies of faith, this cer- 
tainly would be the occasion on which these high 
prerogatives would be exercised. We should ex- 
pect the inquiry to be simply, " What does Peter 
think of this matter ? Let him pronounce his in- 
fallible judgment. We all bow to it, as to the voice 
of the Lord himself/' Do we find anything of 
this nature ? Not one syllable. Peter declares 
his opinion among his brother Apostles, with 
clearness, but with modesty ; and, after the dis- 
cussion of the point by the others, the Apostle 
James sums up, as it were, the debate, in a tone 
of somewhat more authority. 

It is manifest that the president of this assem- 
bly, and every assembly requires a presiding offi- 
cer, was not Peter, but James. This office, in- 
volving no permanent superiority, nor conflicting 
at all with the equality of the Apostles among 
themselves, but simply temporary and occasional, 
was probably accorded to him as Bishop of the 
Church at Jerusalem, the city wherein the Coun- 
cil met. And it has been well remarked, that if 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 31 1 

his opening words, " Men and brethren, hearken 
unto me :' ; and again, the conclusion of his re- 
marks, " Wherefore, my sentence is, that we trou- 
ble not them which from among the Gentiles are 
turned to God :" had fallen from the mouth of Pe- 
ter, rather than of James, they would have con- 
stituted a far stronger argument for Peter's su- 
premacy, than all besides that is to be found in 
the New Testament. And if we reflect upon an 
expression in this speech of James, " Known unto 
God are all his works from the beginning of the 
world ;" and consider the bearing of this Apos- 
tolic Council upon the subsequent usurpation that 
was to enslave the Church for ages, can we fail 
to be struck with the divine purpose of leaving, 
on the inspired page, so conclusive a refutation 
and disproof of such arrogant claims, of inscrib- 
ing there with a pen of iron, so total a contradic- 
tion to the blasphemous pretensions of the Man of 
sin ? No marvel that Rome hates and dreads the 
Bible. 

Little, however, did the Apostle Peter dream 
of the abuse to be afterward made of his name, 
when he arose to state, in a simple and explicit 
manner, his own convictions on the subject of dis- 
pute. And this he does in the most convincing 
and unexceptionable way, by relating the dealings 
of God himself with the Gentiles, and appealing 
to his brethren present, as to the real ground of 



312 



LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 



their own trust of salvation. And his influence 
with the Jews, as pre-eminently the Apostle of the 
circumcision, must have given great weight to 
his statements. " And when there had been much 
disputing,'' chiefly, we may suppose, on the part 
of the Pharisaic zealots, " Peter rose up, and said 
unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that 
a good while ago, God made choice among us, that 
the Gentiles, by my mouth, should hear the word 
of the Gospel, and believe. And God, which know- 
eth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the 
Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us : and put no 
difference between us and them, purifying their 
hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why tempt ye 
God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, 
which neither our fathers nor we were able to 
bear ? But we believe that through the grace of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved, even as 
they." 

This was a noble vindication of Gospel truth, 
and of the sufficiency of faith in Christ unto sal- 
vation. Here we recognize the man, who ex- 
claimed to the Lord Jesus in the day of his hu- 
miliation, when many forsook him, " Lord, to 
whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eter- 
nal life." And who again hailed him as " The 
Christ, the Son of the living God/' It required 
, greater moral courage for Peter to make this 
avowal of simple reliance on the Saviour, amid 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 313 

these sticklers for ceremonial justification, than to 
meet the sword of Herod. But he is decided and 
uncompromising in his declarations. Nay, he 
claims that God hath already settled the matter, 
and that upon the first publication of the Gospel 
to the Gentiles, when God made choice of him, to 
unlock the cloor of the kingdom to Cornelius and 
his friends, the first fruits of the Gentile harvest. 
If God had given to them, upon their hearing of 
the Gospel, his own blessed Spirit ; if he had not 
only vouchsafed to them miraculous endowments, 
but even still richer blessings of his grace, purify- 
ing their hearts by faith ; was it for the Church to 
say that they could not be accepted without con- 
forming to Jew r ish rites ? And while the very 
brethren to whom he spake, rested their entire 
hope of salvation upon the grace of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, was it for them to bind upon Gen- 
tile necks this intolerable burden of Levitical ce- 
remonies ? Great was, doubtless, the effect on 
every mind not closed by prejudice and bigotry, 
of this brief and unanswerable appeal, and the 
impression was immediately deepened by the 
statements that followed. " Then all the multi- 
tude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas 
and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders 
God had wrought among the Gentiles by them." 
Thus the dealings of God were manifested. The. 
majestic march of the Redeemer, through the con- 



314 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

verted Gentile nations, was traced to the kindling 
of adoration and gratitude in every holy breast. 
And after the closing appeal of the Apostle James 
to the sacred Scriptures, the lively oracles of Je- 
hovah, there was an immediate and unanimous 
decision. While the Apostles and their associates 
embraced this opportunity of warning their Gen- 
tile brethren against some sins, of the guilt of 
which the heathen had very inadequate concep- 
tions : and also for peace sake disapproved of 
some customs, which, although not morally wrong, 
were very objectionable to their Jewish brethren : 
they entirely released the Gentiles from the obli- 
gation of the Mosaic law, and exposed the false- 
hood of those pretensions to Apostolic sanction 
which had been so boldly made by the Judaizers. 
The result of this assemblage was the establish- 
ment of the truth of Christ, and the promotion of 
harmony and peace ; and so assured were the 
Council of the divine approval of their decisions, 
that they felt warranted to say, " It seemed good 
to the Holy Ghost, and to us." 

Often since hath that holy name been abused 
to decisions of a very different nature, and claimed 
by assemblies of a very different stamp. In this 
Council of inspired Apostles and brethren, there 
was no vague search after tradition, no vain glo- 
rious elevation of Church authority, no exaltation 
of man. The question with them was simply, 



THE COUNCIL AT JERUSALEM. 315 

" What is the will of the Lord ?" and that will 
they gather from his holy Word, and from the 
manifest bestowments of his grace and Holy 
Spirit. And their decree, if we may so call it, 
concludes, not with an anathema, as was the 
fashion in later times, but with a benediction. 
When the distant Christians, whose minds had 
been so painfully agitated by the question, listen- 
ed to its Scriptural and consolatory tenor, " they 
rejoiced for the consolation/' And we may rejoice 
with them. For it was a solemn and conclusive 
affirmation of the great Gospel principle, that 
when the hand of faith clasps the Saviour, the sin- 
ner is saved ; that by faith we are justified, with- 
out the deeds of the Law ; that in Christ Jesus 
neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncir- 
cumcision, but faith that worketh by love. " Stand 
fast, therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ 
hath made us free." 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF, 



GALATIONS II. 11. 

" But when Peter was come to Antioch. I withstood him to the 
face, because he was to be blamed." 

We are drawing towards the close of the 
eventful and instructive life of the Apostle Peter. 
After the account of the part which he took in 
the memorable Apostolic Council at Jerusalem, 
we find no farther mention of him in the Book of 
the Acts. The inspired writer of that authentic 
narrative became thenceforth the companion of 
St. Paul, and confines himself to the life and la- 
bors of that Apostle. Some incidental allusions 
to St. Peter's subsequent history are contained in 
the Epistles, which complete such record of his 
life, as God hath been pleased to comprehend in 
the sacred Scriptures. To these we may add 
some few traditional statements worthy of atten- 
tion ; but for the most part memorials of the latter 
description are too uncertain, confused and con- 
tradictory, to be entitled to reliance. 

The mention of the Apostle, which occurs in 
the second chapter of the Epistle to the Galations, 
is of a nature to affect us with surprise and regret. 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF. 317 

His whole course, as depicted in the Acts of "the 
Apostles, has been that of a faithful, fervent and 
fearless minister of Christ. He appears promi- 
nent and unshaken as a champion for the Gospel, 
cherishing the purest affection for his Lord, and 
devoting to him soul and body, a living sacrifice. 
After his recovery from the sad and awful fall in- 
to which he was betrayed at the hour of his Mas- 
ter's peril, after the gracious forgiveness extended 
to him by his risen Saviour, he discovers fresh 
zeal and renewed energy. He appears anxious to 
show himself not unmindful of or ungrateful for 
that wondrous mercy, whibh had covered his sin, 
and restored him to the Apostleship. The love 
of Christ manifestly constrains him. Especially 
does he seem raised above all considerations of 
personal danger. He stands forth the undaunted 
proclaimer of the Lord Jesus Christ, in the midst 
of persecutors and enemies. He does not hesi- 
tate to charge the murderers of the Lord with 
their enormous crime, and to press upon their 
consciences the guilt which they had incurred. 
As we pursue his history, we find him in labors 
more abundant, honored by his Lord with the keys 
of his kingdom, first to unlock the door both to 
the Jews and Gentiles, and performing the most 
astonishing miracles, u insomuch that the sick were 
brought into the streets, and laid on beds and 
couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter 

15 



318 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

passing by, might overshadow some of them." 
Amid the honor and reputation thus attracted to- 
wards him, on the part of his fellow-disciples, we 
find him humble and self-renouncing, claiming no 
superiority over his brother Apostles, and con- 
senting to receive no unseemly homage. On the 
gathering of the Apostles and brethren at Jeru- 
salem, to decide the vexatious disputes that had 
been excited by the Judaizing. members of the 
Church, the conduct of St. Peter is worthy of all 
admiration. He gives, without the least preten- 
sion, but with entire clearness and decision, his 
testimony in favor of evangelic truth, and vin- 
dicates the freedom of the Gentiles from the bur- 
den of Levitical ceremonies. What can we an- 
ticipate from so consistent and unwavering a 
course, but perseverance to the end in the same 
manly and resolute advocacy of the Gospel ? The 
path of the just hath been shining more and more, 
and we look for it to brighten into the perfect day 
without a single cloud or shadow. Pursuing the 
history of this eminent and honored servant of 
Christ, we expect nothing but to hear of faith and 
love triumphing over the infirmities of age and 
the opposition of the adversary, and investing 
with heavenly radiance the closing scenes of life. 
And far, very far, from our thoughts, is any ap- 
prehension of such a man varying in the slightest 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF. 319 

degree from his steadfast maintenance of the truth 
of Christ. 

But it must have been for wise purposes that the 
Holy Ghost caused this account, of the Apostle's 
momentary wavering from the " simplicity and 
godly sincerity" becoming the Gospel, to be in- 
scribed on the page of Scripture. And, inasmuch, 
as " whatsoever things were written aforetime 
were written for our learning," we cannot feel 
justified in passing over this incident without 
comment. The record made of it shows the di- 
vine purpose that it should be attentively consi- 
dered, and warrants us to believe that its consi- 
deration will not be without profit and advan- 
tage. ■ 

One fact, which meets, us at the outset, is the 
truthfulness and impartiality of the Holy Scrip- 
tures. Here, as in the account of Peter's denial, we 
perceive the perfect openness and honesty of the 
sacred writers. They have no concealments. 
They disdain all attempts to put a different as- 
pect upon things from what they really should 
bear. They are above all flattery or extenua- 
tion. No matter by whom a fault is committed, 
even though it be by one whose general character 
is commended to our esteem and confidence, it 
is stated without reserve or palliation. Thus, 
the candid enquirer will be finding continually 
fresh proofs that the Bible is a book of truth. 



320 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

It relates facts exactly as they occurred. It ex- 
hibits characters in their real lineaments and 
living portraiture. We can repose with the 
most implicit confidence upon its every state- 
ment. Men, left to themselves, could scarcely 
have failed to give, in some measure, their own 
bias and coloring to their writings. , There would 
have been sometimes betrayed an anxiety to gloss 
over the failings or exaggerate the virtues of the 
loved and honored. But He, who gave us the 
holy volume, is the God of truth, and He hath 
caused the Book that is stamped with his authori- 
ty to reflect the brightness of this lovely attribute. 
So far from the relation of the fault or sin of an 
eminent servant of God making against the claims 
of this volume to divine origin, it is really a 
weighty argument in its favor, establishing as it 
does, in the most unexceptionable manner, the 
perfect veracity and trustworthiness of the in- 
spired record. Hence is the Bible worthy of our 
most implicit faith and reverence. With how 
much confidence may we repose on its promises ? 
With how much awe should we listen to its warn- 
ings ? And how should we be penetrated with 
the conviction that the God who gave it will 
mark all iniquity, and that there can be no con- 
cealment or evasion practised with him ? 

There is also another inference of the utmost 
importance to be drawn from the narrative of this 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF. 321 

event. Before adverting to it we will turn to the 
account, as it is given us in the Epistle to the 
Galatians. The Apostle Paul, after mentioning 
the journey which he made to Jerusalem, on the 
occasion of the assembly of his brethren there, 
thus pursues the subject : " But when Peter was 
come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, be- 
cause he was to be blamed. For before that cer- 
tain came from James, he did eat with the Gen- 
tiles ; but when they were come, he withdrew, and 
separated himself, fearing them which were of the 
circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled 
likewise with him ; insomuch that Barnabas also 
was carried away with their dissimulation. But 
when I saw that they walked not uprightly, accor- 
ding to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter 
before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after 
the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, 
why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the 
Jews ? We who are Jews by nature, and not sin- 
ners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not 
justified by the works of the law, but by the faith 
of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus 
Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of 
Christ, and not by the works of the law ; for by 
the works of the law shall no flesh be justified/' 
The fault of the Apostle Peter therefore, on this 
occasion, was connivance at the attempts of the 
zealots for Jewish ceremonies to bring the Gen- 



322 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tiles under this bondage. We should have sup- 
posed that the decision of the Council at Jerusa- 
lem would have set this question at rest, finally 
and forever. It had there been fully and fairly 
discussed. The advocates of ceremonial justifica- 
tion had been permitted to bring forward their ar- 
guments, and to urge all that could be urged on 
their side. The assembled Apostles, elders, and 
brethren had decided the point with entire unani- 
mity, and their decision " seemed good unto the 
Holy Ghost/' The great principle of justification 
by faith alone in Christ, had been vindicated and 
established. The Gentiles were taught that Christ 
w T as an all-sufficient Saviour, and that they need 
not, and ought not, to join with trust in him reli- 
ance on Jewish rites and ceremonies. After such 
a conclusion, we should scarce expect to hear 
again of this controversy. But there is in error a 
strange tenacity of life. Though apparently dead 
and buried, it will often revive from the tomb. It 
finds a congenial home in the natural heart of man. 
It is fostered by the great Adversary of truth. It 
can assume different shapes and wear divers garbs. 
And when foiled in one mode of assault, it has 
ready recourse to another. And the error, which 
lay at the bottom of this dispute, the substituting 
another foundation for the crucified Redeemer ; 
the idea that simple faith in Jesus is insufficient to 
save and justify us; the putting of rites and ordi- 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF. 



323 



nances, of the means of grace, and of the fruits of 
faith, on the same level with faith itself; is one that 
has always evinced singular pertinacity. Against 
Scriptural forms and articles, and against Scripture 
itself it has stood out, unwilling to yield to plain 
statements and unambiguous language, and ever 
striving to lead the mind away from simple and 
sole dependence upon Jesus crucified. 

In the conduct of Peter, on this occasion, there 
was also great inconsistency. In the Council of 
Jerusalem he had stood forth the earnest and suc- 
cessful opposer of the very error that he now 
countenanced. He had referred to the divine 
choice of himself to preach the Gospel to the Gen- 
tiles, and to the blessing that attended his labors 
among them, as the determination of the matter 
by the Lord himself. If anyone therefore wavers 
in this matter, we should scarcely expect it to be 
Peter. Surely he who hath spoken so decidedly, 
as well as acted so boldly, will'not be moved from 
his position. But strange as is the fact, it is none 
other than Peter himself who is drawn into this 
compliance, so inexcusable in itself, and so perni- 
cious in its effects. St. Paul does not hesitate to 
call his conduct by the apparently harsh name of 
"dissimulation/' It w T as an inexcusable betrayal 
and compromise of the principles which he had 
avowed, and to which his own conscience still 
gave its witness. 



324 LIFE OF^THE APOSTLE PETER. 

And what was the cause of this lamentable in- 
consistency ? " The fear of man/' of which the 
Scripture emphatically remarks, that it " bringeth 
a snare." He withdrew from that unrestrained 
fellowship with his Gentile brethren, in which he 
had before allowed himself, "fearing them which 
were of the circumcision. " While fully convinced 
that the course of these Jewish zealots was that of 
Pharaisaic bigotry and exclusiveness, rather than 
of Christian liberty and charity, he countenanced 
their conduct ; and while he thus encouraged their 
intolerance, he must have occasioned great dis- 
tress and perplexity to the minds of the Gentile 
converts. 

What a striking example this of the weakness 
even of the best men if not upheld by divine grace, 
and of the subtle and ensnaring tendency of undue 
regard to the opinions of our fellow men! It 
would have seemed as if Peter must have been 
raised entirely above the influence of the fear or 
favor of man. Evidently was he indifferent to the 
menaces of open enemies. Pie could stand forth 
amid the very populace of Jerusalem, who a few 
days before had clamored for the blood of Jesus, 
and charge them with the crucifixion of their 
Messiah. He could confront undismayed the as- 
sembled Sanhedrin, and boldly accuse the heads 
of his nation as the authors and instigators of the 
same atrocious act. His calmness and confidence 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF. 325 

forsook him not in the dungeon of Herod, and he 
could slumber peacefully on the night preceding 
his expected martyrdom. No open violence, no 
array however appalling of the instruments of tor- 
ture and death, could shake for a moment his con- 
stancy. Had he been at this very time required 
to seal his attachment to his Lord with his blood, 
he would not have hesitated a moment. But the 
Apostle, who would not have quailed before the 
axe or the cross, was in fear of '- false brethren." 
He dreaded their invidious notice and disparaging 
sneer. He shrank from their accusations of want 
of loyalty as an Israelite. He was unwilling to be 
thought less true to his national faith and venerable 
law ; and yielding for a moment to these feelings, 
he forgat his undivided allegiance to Christ. For 
a little time, until recalled to duty by the stern 
and faithful rebuke of his fellow Apostle, he be- 
came a prevaricator and dissembler, and rendered 
questionable his fidelity to his Redeemer, and his 
zeal for the truth as it is in Jesus. 

Now this unexpected halting of St. Peter be- 
comes the more remarkable and instructive, when 
regarded in connexion with the subsequent history 
of the Christian Church. And we can scarce 
doubt that this full record of so humiliating an in- 
cident was directed by the Holy Ghost, that it 
might stand on the inspired page a solemn protest 
against the future arrogant claims of the advo- 
15* 



326 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

cates of Papal supremacy. For which of the 
Apostles is thus represented as failing in steadfast 
maintenance of Gospel truth and sincerity ? The 
very one to whom Christ had declared long before, 
" Thou art Peter ; and upon this Rock I will build 
my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of 



o 



the kingdom of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt 
bind on earth, .shall be bound in heaven ; and what- 
soever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in 
heaven." Upon the true import of these words 
we have dwelt in a former discourse. But that 
they cannot be understood in the sense that Rome 
would put upon them, is undeniably manifest from 
the passage before us. This promise of Christ, 
we are told, invested Peter with infallibility. It 
constituted him supreme head of the Church, and 
enabled him to decide all controversies respecting 
the Faith, without possibility of error. The minds 
of the unstable and unlearned are wrought upon 
by the specious plea, of the immense advantage of 
there being always in the Church an unerring 
judge of doubts and disputes. From this supposed 
advantage is next argued the certainty of the 
thing. Such a judge was Peter appointed; and 
a succession of men after him were to exercise the 
same amazing powers, and to be vested with the 
same infallible discrimination between truth and 
error. Now is riot the simple narrative, upon 



THE FAULT AXD THE REPROOF. 327 

which we are meditating, sufficient to scatter to 
the winds these enormous assumptions ? Are not 
these few words enough to overturn, from the 
very foundation, the towering edifice of Papal 
usurpation ? When the Apostle Paul stood forth 
in the midst of the Church at Antioch, and " with- 
stood Peter to the face, because he was to be 
blamed ;' ? when he openly charged him with con- 
niving at insidious error, and compromising the 
purity and truth of the Gospel by timid and time- 
serving compliances, did he not really tear away, 
as with a Samson's might, the very pfllars of the 
. Antichristian temple ? And whether or not he ap- 
prehended the full bearing of the course which he 
then pursued ; or knew that, by inserting the ac- 
count in his Epistle to the Galatians, he was leav- 
ing on record, by anticipation, a protest against 
the subsequent encroachments of the Man of Sin, 
doubtless he was governed throughout bv the in- 
fluence of the Holy Ghost. When the question is 
asked. Where was Protestantism before the days 
of Luther ? we need be at no loss for an answer. 
Not only did God raise up faithful witnesses to the 
truth in every age of darkness and apostacy, who 
resisted even unto blood, striving against sin; but 
in the Holy Scriptures themselves, we have pro- 
phecies the most clear, warnings against future 
corruptions the most decided, and protests pointed 



328 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

and direct against the first germs and buddings 
of error. 

There would be naturally great exultation 
amongst the false brethren, who had come down 
from Jerusalem to Antioch to bring the Gentiles 
into bondage, when so eminent and honored an 
Apostle as Peter gave them the semblance of his 
countenance. They were probably ready to boast 
their triumph. But if even a Peter swerve in the 
least from the straight line of Christian fidelity, the 
Spirit of God will inspire one of his brethren with 
boldness to tax him with his fault, and call him 
back to duty. And God saw fit to leave Peter to 
himself on this occasion, and to permit him a sec- 
ond time to fall, that there might remain, on the 
imperishable page of Holy Writ, this abiding refu- 
tation of that falsehood, which afterwards assumed 
a shape so portentous. 

And while this record so conclusively disproves 
the unholy pretensions, of those who call them- 
selves Peter's successors, to infallible security 
from error, it may also be considered as a caution 
to the Church of Christ, against reposing undue 
reliance upon human authority. Hetween the 
voice of Goi himself, addressing us in the inspired 
Scriptures, and the voice of man, there is a gulf 
immense and impassable. To attempt to place 
the opinions of men, no matter how good, and 
wise, and venerable, of men singly or collectively, 



THE FAULT AtfD THE REPROOF. 329 

of individuals or the whole Church, upon the same 
Jevel with Holy Writ, is nought less than treason 
to our heavenly King. What an illustration may 
be drawn from this narrative of the futility and 
danger of seeking for religious truth in the tradi- 
tions of antiquity, rather than in the Word of Jeho- 
vah ! Suppose that, instead of the account of this 
transaction at Antioch being preserved in Scrip- 
ture, tradition had handed down to us the fact, 
that the Apostle Peter had, after the date of the 
Council at Jerusalem, joined the Judaizing party 
in the Church; and that this compliance of his 
were made an argument against the doctrine of 
justification by faith alone, as it is laid down in 
the Epistles of St. Paul. Here would be a tradi- 
tion vastly more imposing and trustworthy than 
many of those which have gained currency and 
influence. It would be the account of a fact in 
the history not of one of the Fathers, but of an 
Apostle, and of a fact having a most intimate and 
important bearing upon a doctrinal dispute. And 
yet, where would they be led who should take this 
authentic Apostolic tradition, however correctly 
and circumstantially handed down, as their guide 
in the study of the New Testament ? And if a 
Peter, w 7 hen not speaking or writing by inspira- 
tion, could thus fall, what reliance can we place 
upon the opinions of our fellow mortals of later 
ages and far inferior gifts, except as they are 



330 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

borne out by the plain, unambiguous testimony of 
the Word of God ? 

The conduct of these two great Apostles, on 
this occasion, is therefore, attentively considered, 
most fitted to confirm our confidence in the Gos- 
pel, and to lead our faith to rest, not in the wis- 
dom of men, but in the power of God. It is a 
striking instance of the fairness and opennesss 
with which the affairs of the early Church were 
conducted. In later times, the questionable arts 
of concealment and secrecy were introduced. 
Policy prevailed over candor and honesty, and 
sought to cover what it was judged inexpedient 
to make known. But this was not the practice 
of the Apostolic Church. There every thing was 
open and above-board. When one Apostle pre- 
varicated, another withstood him to the face. A 
time-serving prudence would have sought to hide 
this difference between brethren, and have feared 
that scandal and reproach to the cause should en- 
sue from a manifest variance between two such 
champions of the Faith. But truth courts no sub- 
terfuge ; and firm in the consciousness of inherent 
strength and divine support, lays bare every thing 
to the light of day. If there are divisions in the 
Church, and differences among brethren, let them 
be known, fairly met, openly discussed, no matter 
at what seeming hazard and injury, and the 



THE FAULT AND THE REPROOF. 331 

straightforward course of truth and honesty will 
prove in the end by far the safest and the best. 

While vre are struck with the decided, un- 
flinching maintenance of the truth of Christian 
doctrine by St. Paul on this trying occasion, we 
may also admire the humility and meekness of 
Peter, under this severe but deserved rebuke. He 
seems to have candidly confessed the truth of the 
charge against him, and to have submitted to the 
punishment which it brought upon him. We read 
of no acrimonious reply or irritating dispute. And 
when he has occasion in his Epistle afterward to 
refer to his " beloved brother Paul/' it is in lan- 
guage of the utmost affection and respect. Thus the 
Christian meekness and humility of the one Apos- 
tle are as conspicuous in owning his fault, as the 
boldness and fidelity of the other in the rebuke. 
The character of Peter, after this momentary 
eclipse, shines forth the brighter, as that of a genu- 
ine -and faithful follower of the meek and lowly 
Jesus. And we are constrained to admit, that 
although the most eminent Christians, when not 
upheld by God, are but men, frail and erring men, 
yet they are very difterent men from the irreli- 
gious. The mind that was in Christ is the pre- 
vailing character, ana there is a "seed remaining 
in them that are born of God, so that they cannot 
sin,*' as others ski. If tempted to sin, they speed- 
ily repent. If drawn lor a time from the ri^ht 



332 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

way, they soon return. For God is their God, 
Christ is their Shepherd, the Holy Ghost is their 
guide to truth and heaven, by whose gentle whis- 
perings they will be won back to the way of life 
and salvation. " Blessed is he that hath the King 
of Jacob for his help, and whose trust is in the 
Lord his God." 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 



2 PETER I. 13-15. 

" Yea, 1 think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to 
stir you up, by putting you in remembrance ; knowing that shortly 
I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ 
hath shewed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, 
after my decease, to have these tilings always in remembrance." 

The eminent Apostle, by the labors of whose 
life the Gospel of Christ was so widely diffused, 
and the Church of the Redeemer so greatly en- 
larged and edified, was also chosen to be one of 
the penmen of the New Testament. Thus was 
he, who instructed so many by his living voice, 
permitted to teach all generations of Christians 
by his Epistles. Being dead, he yet speaketh ; 
speaketh to every congregation of Christ ; speak- 
eth to a multitude innumerable of his fellow-dis- 
ciples ; exhorts, animates and comforts the hearts 

of myriads whom he never saw in the flesh, 

■ 

I purpose now to conclude this series of dis- 
courses, with a brief notice of his Epistles, and of 
the supposed circumstances of his departure from 
this life. 



334 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER'. 

The Epistles of St. Peter are worthy of his 
reputation and character, as one of the chiefest of 
the Apostles. As inspired compositions, indeed, 
they soar far above all human effort, and their 
praise is not due to mortal intellect or heart. The 
stamp of Almighty God is marked and legible 
upon them. The truth, as it is in Jesus, is set 
forth with a distinctness, a solemnity, a power 
and a sweetness, far beyond the reach of man. 
They constitute an exceedingly weighty and pre- 
cious portion of Holy Writ, an inestimable trea- 
sure to the Church of Christ. But while the Holy 
Ghost speaks to us in these Epistles, with an ut- 
terance not to be mistaken ; while we reverently 
own their unearthly energy and heavenly unction ; 
we also can commune with the chosen vessel who 
was appointed to indite them. While under a 
divine and marvellous guidance, the writers of the 
Scriptures are, at the same time, permitted to ex- 
press their own sanctified feelings. The Holy 
Spirit, who hath put good desires into their hearts, 
and inspired them with fervor, zeal, love of the truth, 
anxiety for the spiritual welfare and eternal salva- 
tion of their fellow-men ; impels them to pour out 
these holy emotions, and preserves them from all 
error in their communications. And thus, while 
we listen with awe to the voice from Heaven, we 
are affected with hallowed human sympathies, as 
addressed also bv our brethren. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 335 

The first Epistle of St. Peter is directed " to 
the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Gala- 
tia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia." * The word 
"strangers" is supposed by many to apply to them, 
as Israelites far from their native land, scattered 
as foreigners, rather than citizens, through these 
regions, to whom they conceive St. Peter parti- 
cularly addressed himself as being; the Apostle of 
the circumcision. By others, who suppose the 
Gentile as well as the Jewish converts to be em- 
braced, the word is understood spiritually, as ap- 
plicable to their state as pilgrims and strangers 
upon the earth, a truth which the Apostle cer- 
tainly desired to impress upon them, f The Epis- 
tle evidently supposes those whom it addressed, 
to be exposed to the storm of persecution. A 
large part of it is adapted to such an exigency, 
and is admirably fitted to strengthen the faith and 
constancy of struggling and threatened followers 
of Christ. It enlarges uoon the exceilencv of the 
Gospel, and the greatness of its blessings, pro- 
mises and hopes, in a strain of the utmost eleva- 
tion and power. It presents very affectingly a 
suffering; Saviour to the love and imitation of his 
people. % It persuades the afflicted and persecu- 
ted flock of Jesus, to rejoice even in their tribula- 
tion, inasmuch as they were " a chosen genera- 

* 1 Peter LI. t 1 Peter ii. 11; iv. 7. i ii. 20-24. 



336 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

tion, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar 
people, called out of darkness into marvellous 
light ; in time past, not a people, but now the peo- 
ple of God ;" once " as sheep gone astray, but now 
returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of their 
souls. " # By considerations so awakening, he 
animates them to patient continuance in well do- 
ing, and to faithful endurance unto the end. He 
urges, also, very earnestly, the duties of practical 
religion, and shows the application of their faith 
to the various circumstances and relations of life, 
plainly warning them against the snares and dan- 
gers to which they were exposed. f Hence, it is 
a part of Scripture which the Christian may study 
with great profit, as a guide in his daily walk and 
conversation. Not the least striking portion of 
this instructive Epistle, is its exhibition of the re- 
spective duties of pastors and people, and its 
heart- affecting appeals to the ministers of Christ. 
Here we are impressed at once with the earnest 
solemnity which breathes in the exhortation, and 
with the self-renouncing humility of the speaker. 
In this faithful and touching admonition, there 
seems to have been designedly placed on record, 
by the Holy Spirit, another emphatic protest 
against the subsequent pretensions of Anti-Chris- 
tian domination. " The elders which are anions 

* ii. 9, 10, 25. f Chaps, iii. iv. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 337 

you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness 
of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of 
the glory that shall be revealed : Feed the flock 
of God which is among you, taking the oversight 
thereof, not by constraint, but willingly ; not for 
filthy lucre, but of a ready mind ; neither as being 
lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to 
the 'flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall 
appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that 
fadeth not away/' # How marked the contrast 
between this affectionate fraternal address, and 
the tone of letters, decretals and bulls issued by 
Peter's pretended successors ! The great Apos- 
tle, however justly he might insist, like his brother 
Paul, upon the authority which the Lord had 
given him for edification, waives the language of 
authority, and pleads, simply as an elder, with his 
brethren in the sacred trust of the ministry. 
Earnestly does he warn them against the influ- 
ence of low mercenary motives, and against un- 
warranted assumption of power over God's inhe- 
ritance. Let them be shepherds, not lords ; let 
them feed, and not tyrannize over the flock. Let 
them remember their own accountability to the 
chief Shepherd, and look for the recompence of 
their cares and toils in his favor, and at his ap- 
pearing. In this simple address, how forcibly and 

* Chap. v. 1-4. 



338 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

nobly does the Apostle rebuke by anticipation 
the spirit of priestly aggrandizement and spiritual 
despotism, that so soon after unequivocally mani- 
fested itself, and gradually increased to a stature 
so towering, until it crushed the bleeding Church 
beneath the foot of pride ! 

And while referring to this decided protest 
against usurpation and abuse of power, by those 
commissioned to feed the flock of Christ, let us 
also note the singular date of this Epistle, where- 
in it is conceived, w r e may also discern the point- 
ing of the finger of prophecy. " The Church 
that is at Babylon, elected together with you, sa- 
luteth you." # Now, we must understand Baby- 
lon here, either literally or figuratively. That it 
was not to be taken literally, was the general 
voice of antiquity. There is nothing to render it 
probable that the Apostle ever visited Babylon in 
Chaldea. The opinion, therefore, was prevalent 
in the early Church, that Babylon was to be un- 
derstood mystically of Rome ; and Romish writers 
themselves, in their anxiety to show that the Apos- 
tle visited that metropolis, contend for the same 
interpretation. Admitting this view then, we 
have one Scripture argument to prove that Peter 
was at Rome, but an argument in which Papal 
Rome has little reason to glory. For the Apostle 

* 1 Peter v. 13. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 339 

designates the imperial city as the mystic Babylon, 
like its prototye, to be conspicuous for oppression 
of the Israel of God ; for idolatry and unhallowed 
splendor ; and like her too, destined when the 
hour of retribution came, to a sudden and terrible 
destruction. And this intimation, connected with 
the utterance of prophecy in the Apocalypse of 
St. John, must apply to a nominally Christian, 
and not an avowedly Pagan authority. If the 
Apostle Peter, therefore, were at Rome, as the ad- 
vocates of the Papacy so eagerly maintain, he 
was there to put upon her the warning prophetic 
brand of the mystic Babylon. 

The second Epistle of St. Peter is, on its face, 
addressed generally "to them that have obtained 
like precious faith with us/ 3 It confirms the 
doctrines and instructions of the former, and aims 
to establish the disciples to whom it was sent in 
the truth and profession of the Gospel. And it 
solemnly cautions them against false teachers, who 
were then busy in disseminating corrupt dogmas, 
and against profane scoffers, who would mock at the 
Scriptural annunciation of the coming judgment. 
It earnestly presses upon Christians advance- 
ment in holiness, and shows how needful and im- 
portant are spiritual growth and improvement, to 
those who would secure an entrance into the ever- 
lasting kingdom of their God and Saviour.* 5 With 
* Chap. i. 5-11. - - - 



340 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETEB. 

holy zeal the Author calls upon his fellow disci- 
ples to " make their calling and election sure/' to 
obtain not a bare admission, but " an abundant 
entrance" into the promised rest of God's people. 
And especially is the Epistle remarkable for the 
clear and solemn re-affirmation of the great truth 
of the second Advent of our Lord Jesus Christ, as 
the Judge of men ; and for its awe -inspiring des- 
cription of the glories and terrors of that day. 
Adverting to the attempts that would be made by 
proud and scoffing unbelievers to shake the faith 
of men in this solemn event ; and to the encour- 
agement which the ungodly and atheistical would 
take, from the lapse of mltny ages without these 
warnings being fulfilled, to represent them as 
wholly groundless &n% unreal; he makes known 
the certain arrival of the appointed day of doom 
in terms of unequalled and appalling solemnity. 
Penetrated with his amazing and awful theme, the 
Apostle rises to the utmost height of language, and 
announces the great crowning manifestation of 
Omnipotent justice, in tones that thrill the reader's 
inmost soul. That delay, which so greatly em- 
boldened the wicked, he shows to flow from the 
abused longsuffering and mercy of an outraged, 
yet still compassionate God ; but, gracious as it 
was, to have its limit and termination. " The 
heavens and the earth, which are now, by the 
same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 343 

against the day of judgment and perdition of un- 
godly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this 
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thou- 
sand years, and a thousand years as one day. The 
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some 
men count slackness ; but is long-suffering to us- 
ward, not willing that any should perish, but that 
all should come to repentance. But the day of 
the Lord will come as a thief in the night ; in the 
which the heavens shall pass away with a great 
noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent 
heat ; the earth also, and the works that are 
therein, shall be burned up." * How much of 
power and solemnity in ike Apostle's application 
of this awful subject to *the consciences of his 
brethren ! Let not our ear&be dull, nor our hearts 
insensible. " Seeing then that all these things 
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought 
ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness ; 
looking for and hasting unto the coming of the 
day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, 
shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt 
with fervent heat ? Nevertheless we, according 
to his promise, look for new heavens and a new 
earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Where- 
fore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, 
be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, 
without spot and blameless/' 

* % Peter iii. 
16 



342 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

The interest of this Epistle is greatly en- 
hanced by the Apostle's reference to the approach- 
ing termination of his earthly labors. He wrote in 
full view, not only of his Master's cross, but of his 
own, and the light of eternity shone vividly upon 
his expecting soul. " Wherefore, I will not be 
negligent to put you always in remembrance of 
these things, though ye know them, and be estab- 
lished in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, 
as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up 
by putting you in remembrance ; knowing that 
shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as 
our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. More- 
over, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after 
my decease, to have these things always in re- 
membrance." # The Apostle knew that he must 
shortly put off his earthly tabernacle, as his Lord 
had shown him. He refers here to the Saviour's 
address to him, at the memorable interview on the 
shore of the Lake of Tiberias, when he was re- 
stored to his forfeited Apostleship, and solemnly 
charged to feed his Master's sheep and lambs. 
" Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast 
young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst w T hither 
thou wouldest : but when thou shalt be old, thou 
shalt stretch forth thine hands, and another shall 
gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest 

* 2 Peter i. 12-15. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 343 

not. This spake he, signifying by what death he 
should glorify God. And when he had spoken 
this, he saith unto him, Follow me." * " Aye, 
follow me, Peter, though I lead thee by a rough 
and toilsome way, to a torturing cross and a 
bloody death. Follow me, through whatever 
dangers, difficulties, trials, I may conduct thee. 
Follow me, though the end of thine earthy pilgrim- 
age be as fearful to flesh and blood as was mine 
own. Thou hast witnessed my sufferings : arm 
thyself likewise w T ith the same mind, and prepare 
to seal thy fidelity with thy blood." And the 
Apostle, with unfaltering step, followed his Lord, 
that painful cross, to which each day brought him 
nearer, full in his view ; and although for a mo- 
ment at Antioch, he so far yielded to the influence 
of false brethren, as to waver in his maintenance 
of Gospel truth and sincerity, yet he never, after 
this intimation from Jesus of the end that awaited 
him, shrank from danger and violence. And with 
how much calmness does he, in the passage before 
us, refer to this anticipated event ? His anxiety 
is manifestly not for himself, but for his brethren 
in Christ, and the approach of death reminds him 
not so much of his own sufferings, as of their spi- 
ritual dangers and wants. 

In our Lord's words, the end of his Apostle's 

* John xxL 18, 19. 



344 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

life was foretold as crucifixion. " When thou 
shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, 
and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whi- 
ther thou wouldest not." Once the master of his 
own motions, and free to go whither he would, he 
should then be helpless in the power of cruel ene- 
mies, his outstretched hands would be nailed to 
the tree, and he would be subjected to a doom 
from which frail nature must recoil. But faith 
and love enabled him to meet this appalling doom 
without a murmur. He speaks of it simply as the 
putting off his earthly tabernacle,, and looks for- 
ward to it as composedly as to a removal from 
one dwelling to another. And he gives us, imme- 
diately after, the secret of his undisturbed peace 
in such a prospect. " For we have not followed 
cunningly-devised fables, when we made known 
unto you the power and coming of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his ma- 
jesty. " % An undoubting persuasion of the truth of 
that Gospel which he preached, a certain assurance 
of the mighty power and future coming in majesty 
and judgment, of that Saviour whom his own eyes 
once beheld transfigured upon the holy mount, 
nerved him for any extremity, made him indif- 
ferent to the cruelty of man and the rage of hell, 
and filled his soul with glowing anticipation of the 
glories in which he should share. 

* 2 Peter i. 16. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 345 

Although we are spared, beloved, the fiery 
trial of the early believers, and the end of our 
days is not invested with the additional horrors 
by which they were menaced, yet is there some- 
thing not inapplicable, in the Saviour's language to 
Peter, to the general experience of our mortal 
lot. " When thou wast young, thou girdedst thy- 
self, and walkedst whither thou wouldest ; but 
when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth 
thine hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry 
thee whither thou wouldest not." The buoyant 
life and elastic energy of youth must, ere many 
years have flown, be paralyzed by disease, or be- 
numbed with age ; and the hour surely arrives 
when the strongest frame lies motionless and 
rigid, unresistingly to be borne by other hands to 
the place, whither, if choice were given, it would 
not. What can reconcile the living, the active, 
the healthful, the joyous, to changes so inevitable 
and saddening, but faith in that Gospel which is 
proved, by the blessed experience of the depart- 
ing Christian, to be no cunningly-devised fable, 
and hope of meeting in peace the Saviour in 
whom the heart hath trusted ? 

The feeling uppermost in the Apostle's heart, 
in view of his not very distant martyrdom, was 
solicitude for the spiritual welfare of his brethren 
in Christ. Over those, for whom, as a faithful 
shepherd, he had so long watched, his soul yearn- 



346 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

ed with exceeding anxiety. He forgets his own 
agonizing death, in his concern for them, and de- 
sires to occupy the few remaining days of sojourn 
in his earthly tabernacle, by putting them in re- 
membrance of the great and saving truths which 
they had already learned. And he is anxious to 
leave upon their minds impressions that shall be 
fresh and vivid, when he is no longer their fellow- 
pilgrim upon earth. " Moreover, I will endeavor 
that ye may be able, after my decease, to have 
these things always in remembrance. " The 
Apostle would soon be separated, by the mysteri- 
ous curtain of the tomb, from those in whom his 
heart was so deeply interested. Then he could no 
longer address them by word or letter. The voice 
which had affectionately spoken in their ear the 
glad tidings of salvation, and which like a trumpet 
had sounded the alarm of approaching judgment, 
would then be silenced. The hand that now pen- 
ed these persuasive and edifying Epistles, would 
be motionless, and forget its cunning. But the 
pastor was not willing that his beloved flock should 
so soon forget his counsels. He would not cease 
to be useful to them, because no longer an inhabi- 
tant of this lower world. Being dead, he yet de- 
sired to speak. And he found consolation in the 
thought, that when parted from them by the bar- 
rier of the grave, he might still act the part of 
their counsellor and guide. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 347 

There is, in the human breast, a strong desire 
to be remembered after death. In those who are 
ignorant of the power of Christ's Gospel, it often 
shows itself in an inordinate craving of fame, and 
in self-flattering dreams of posthumous celebrity. 
But we find the rightful and sanctified direction 
of this longing, in the Providential purpose that 
influence shall not cease with life. The mind, 
full of vast conceptions and far-reaching plans, 
looks with disappointment upon the narrow limits 
of this mortal span. It pines for a wider range, a 
longer duration of its powers, a continuance of its 
influence upon other minds, after its brief space of 
temporal being is exhausted. It no sooner seems 
to be matured, and with its acquired stores, de- 
veloped energies, and ripened experience, to be 
really effecting somewhat for the good of others, 
than in a moment the vital vapor vanishes, and 
life's flickering candle is extinguished. But 
this allotment of Divine Providence, is not only 
vindicated in the fullest manner, bv the immorta- 
lity of man in another sphere, but also in part by 
the decree, that they who have been laboring for 
the glory of God, and the good of man, shall not 
cease to be useful upon earth, when their bodies 
return to the dust, and their spirits to God who 
gave them. The sanctified desires of the servants 
of the Almighty, to benefit those with whom in- 
tercourse is no longer possible, shall be realized. 



348 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER, 

The Apostle Peter, and the doctrines which he 
taught, and the appeals wherewith he enforced 
them, should he " had in remembrance after his de- 
cease/' They are still had in remembrance, and 
he speaks again to us this day, and reminds us 
impressively of Christian duties and approaching 
judgment. He shall continue to testify the same 
great and precious truths, until those solemn cir- 
cumstances are realized, of which he spake so 
clearly, and the day of the Lord, like a thief in 
the night, bursts upon an amazed and trembling 
world. And in a lower degree and humbler sphere, 
the Christian, w T ho is true to his calling, will exert 
an influence that shall outlive the tomb. The 
pious friend will not be forgotten by the com- 
panion whom he affectionately warned, though 
the sod be green over his grave. The godly pa- 
rent may be suddenly snatched from the sweet 
circle and holy sympathies of home. But looks, 
and words, and actions of the departed, will live 
in sweet remembrance. The once familiar voice 
will whisper in the ear of the child, and the en- 
deared countenance will seem to smile affection- 
ately upon each holy purpose, or reprove by its 
gaze of sad displeasure the unhallowed desire and 
forbidden act. The pastor's voice is no longer 
heard in the house of God where he had been 
accustomed to minister, or in the chamber of sick- 
ness, or beside the bed of death. But if his ob- 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 349 

ject have been his Master's glory and his peoples' 
salvation, that people will not cease to be profited 
when his head is low in the dust. To some, who 
resisted his living appeals, he may speak more 
persuasively and successfully from the tomb, and 
counsels, too lightly regarded while he was in the 
midst of his flock, may become impressive and 
awakening after his decease. Let us so live, 
Christian brethren, that if called to remembrance, 
after we have travelled the irrevocable path, it 
may be to the spiritual and eternal good of those 
who survive us. 

It was, as the Apostle foresaw, very soon after 
the writing of this Epistle, that he underwent the 
doom of which his Lord had forewarned him. 
The place of his martyrdom was by the ancient 
Church supposed to be that metropolitan city, 
to which he had himself affixed the name of Ba- 
bylon. There is a traditional account of his 
death, which, though wanting in the certainty of 
authentic history, seems entitled to attention, as 
harmonizing with his character and life.- Accord- 
ins: to this, he was imprisoned in Rome, together 
with his brother Apostle, St. Paul, by the sanguin- 
ary Nero, who had resolved to sacrifice them both 
to his cruelty and revenge. While the fatal stroke 
was daily expected, the Christians in Rome, it is 
related, importunately solicited St, Peter to make 
his escape. " This, at first, he rejected, as what 



350 LIFE OF THE APOSTLE PETER. 

would ill-reflect upon his courage and constancy, 
but the prayers and tears of the people overcame 
him and made him yield. Accordingly, having 
prayed with and taken farewell of the brethren, 
he got over the prison wall ; and coming to the 
city gate? he is there said to have met with our 
Lord, who was just entering into the city. Peter 
asked him, Lord, whither art thou going ? from 
whom he received this answer, " To Rome, to be 
crucified a second time." By which answer Pe- 
ter apprehended himself to be reproved, and that 
our Lord meant it of his death that he was to be 
crucified in his servant. Whereupon he went 
back to the prison, and delivered himself into the 
hands of his keepers, showing himself most ready 
and willing to acquiesce in the will of God. Hav- 
ing saluted his brethren, and taken his last fare- 
well of St. Paul, he was brought out of the pri- 
son, and led to the top of the Vatican Mount, 
near to Tiber. The death to which he was ad- 
judged was crucifixion, as of all others accounted 
the most shameful, so the most severe and terri- 
ble. But he entreated the favor of the officers 
that he might not be crucified in the ordinary 
way, but might suffer with his head downwards, 
affirming that he was unworthy to suffer in the 
same posture wherein his Lord had suffered be- 
fore him."* 

* Cave — Lives of the Apostles. 



THE ANTICIPATED DECEASE. 351 

Under these, or circumstances not very differ- 
ent, took place that decease of the Apostle, which 
was in his mind when he penned the words of our 
text. What cause have we for gratitude to the 
Almighty for his grace manifested in the life and 
labors of this his servant ; so honored in the lay- 
ing of the foundation and building up of the walls 
of his Church, and also that so much of his event- 
ful and interesting history has been preserved for 
our instruction ? Let us, therefore, in concluding, 
" bless God's holy name'' for this review of his 
Apostle's earthly course, as well as for all his 
other " servants departed this life in his faith and 
fear, beseeching Him to give us grace so to follow 
their good examples, that with them, we may be 
partakers of his heavenly kingdom ; for Jesus 
Christ's sake, our only Mediator and Advocate. 
Amen." 



Almighty God, who hast knit together thine 
elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mys- 
tical body of thy Son Christ our Lord ; grant us 
grace so to follow thy blessed Saints in all virtuous 
and godly living, that we may come to those un- 
speakable joys, which thou hast prepared for those 
who unfeignedly love thee, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen. 



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